W.  R. H.  TROWBRIDGE 


QUEEN   ALEXANDRA 


/ 


.J}iuchcrt, 


C^  cciL  \y(le  ocanclra 

I863 


QUEEN  ALEXANDRA 

^  Study  of  T^oyalty      'By  W.  R.  H. 

TROWBRIDGE  With  an 

Introduction  by  Walburga^  Lady  Paget 


NEW  YORK 
D.    APPLETON   AND    COMPANY 


[All  rights  reservid] 

Printed  in  Great  Britain  by  Hazell,  Watson  &  Viney.  Ld. 
London  and  Aylesbury. 


INTRODUCTION 

BT 

t 

WALBURGA,    LADY    PAGET 

This  book  is  a  presentment  of  an  era  of  na- 
tional prosperity,  comfort,  and  light-hearted 
happiness  for  which  it  is  difficult  to  find  a 
comparison  in  any  other  country  or  time. 

Perfect  and  proud  confidence  was  written 
across  the  bond  which  united  the  peoples  of 
the  greatest  Empire  the  world  had  ever  seen. 

In  the  centre  of  this  brilliant  picture 
Queen  Alexandra  scintillates  like  a  pure 
jewel — lovely  to  the  eyes,  but  far  dearer  to 
the  hearts,  of  a  nation  which  had  at  once 
adopted  her  as  its  fairy  Princess. 

This  charm  has  not  waned ;  it  has  been 
kept  alive  by  the  Queen's  kindness  of  heart, 
her  unselfishness,  simplicity,  and  unswerving 
truthfulness,  which  have  swept  away  all  that 
is  mean  or  base  from  her  environment. 

The  Queen  has,  in  her  long  experience  of 
life  and  events,  acquired  a  great  knowledge 
of  the  world,  which,  with  her  inborn  common 
sense  and  tact,  gives  her  judgments  and  acts 
exceptional  weight.    In  her  early  days,  how- 

5 

464605 


6  INTRODUCTION 

ever,  her  influence  was  felt  in  a  different 
way.  The  first  perceptible  symptom  was  the 
"  cachet  "  she  imprinted  on  fashion.  This 
became  very  marked  after  the  fall  of  the 
Second  French  Empire,  for  Republics  do  not 
breed  fashions,  and  from  times  immemorial 
the  impetus  and  tone  have  always  been  given 
by  Courts.  The  trend  of  these  fashions 
emanated  from  the  Princess's  characteristics, 
which  were  extreme  neatness  and  great  sim- 
plicity, united  to  grace  and  dignity.  There 
never  was  anything  extreme  in  design,  shape, 
or  colour.  This  influence  lasted  about  two- 
score  years,  to  be  submerged  at  last  by  the 
flood  of  luxury  and  extravagance  ending  in 
vulgar  ugliness,  a  development  which  students 
of  history  know  well  as  the  symptoms  of 
revolutionary  unrest  and  the  consequence  of 
wars. 

Through  all  the  terrible  years  of  the  great 
struggle  Queen  Alexandra  remained  faith- 
fully and  courageously  in  London,  helping 
and  consoling,  and,  above  all,  giving  the  tonic 
of  her  presence  to  the  nervous  or  depressed 
crowd  which  daily  waited  at  the  gates  of 
Marlborough  House  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  her. 
Her  physical  courage  was  sustained  by  her 
steadfast  soul. 

Gentle  and  uncomplaining  she  went  about 
always,  in  the  same  simple  Kttle  black  dress, 


INTRODUCTION  7 

doing  her  errands  of  mercy  whilst  the  London 
streets  were  blazing  with  jewellery  and  furs, 
and  the  sounds  of  revelry  at  night  were 
mingled  with  the  booming  of  the  Zeppelin 
bombs. 

Once  only  the  Queen  murmured,  and  that 
was  when  she  was  told  she  must  give  up  her 
beloved  horses  and  dogs.  Only  the  very 
smallest  minimum  was  left  to  her,  as  her 
much  straitened  income  was  not  sufficient 
to  keep  so  many  pets.  It  was  a  bitter 
sacrifice,  for  Queens  are  often  lonely,  and 
dogs  are  their  sincerest  friends. 

May  God  protect  this  noble  lady,  and  spare 
her  latter  years  the  great  shocks  and  sorrows 
which  have  at  times  clouded  her  life.  She 
has  set,  in  her  unselfish  self-sacrifice  and  re- 
straint, her  compassion  and  her  observance 
of  the  fifth  petition  of  the  Lord's  Prayer,  an 
example  to  all  women ;  and  it  would  be  an 
earnest  for  England's  happiness  if  a  rising 
generation  would  follow  these  footprints  left 
in  the  sands  of  time  by  one  who  always  held, 
and  still  holds,  the  love  and  devotion  of  the 
nation. 


^'y'^oU^^^ 


AUTHOR'S  PREFACE 

This  book  is  not  a  biography  in  the  strict  sense, 
nor  does  it  belong  to  any  stereotyped  category. 
Though  a  Queen,  august,  beautiful,  and  good,  is 
the  central  figure,  the  background  which  throws 
into  high  reHef  her  gracious  personahty,  as  if 
designed  for  this  express  purpose,  is  scarcely  less 
important.  This  background  is  the  epoch  that 
has  passed,  leaving,  Hke  a  brilliantly  setting  sun, 
a  long,  gorgeous  trail  behind  it. 

The  historian  who  will  pronounce  the  final 
verdict  on  this  great  age  in  English  history  has 
yet  to  come,  or,  if  already  born,  is  still  in  swaddling 
clothes.  For  the  Present  is  always  quite  incapable 
of  judging  the  immediate  Past  dispassionately. 

Youthful  centuries  are  proverbially  lacking  in 
reverence.  This  want  of  respect  for  tradition  is 
called  the  "  modem  spirit,*'  though  why  it  would 
be  hard  to  say,  seeing  that  the  disparagement  of 
the  past  is  a  very  old  habit  of  a  young  generation. 
The  first  years  of  the  eighteenth  century  were 
spent  in  pulling  to  pieces  the  traditions  of  the 
seventeenth,  and  in  similar  fashion  the  early 
nineteenth  flouted  its  parent,  of  which  Talleyrand, 
though  one  of  its  principal  detractors,  said  that 
only  those  who  had  lived  before  the  French 
Revolution  knew  how  beautiful  and  graceful  life 
had  been  then. 


10  AUTHOR'S    PREFACE 

The  twentieth  century  has  followed  the  example 
of  its  predecessors.  Even  before  the  close  of  the 
nineteenth  it  was  the  fashion  to  utter  cheap  jibes 
and  shallow  witticisms  at  the  expense  of  the 
tottering  colossus.  The  giants  of  the  Victorian 
era  were  belittled ;  the  ideals  and  customs  of  the 
age  were  discredited ;  certain  decades,  associated 
with  a  mode  of  life  repugnant  to  others  more 
congenial,  were  held  up  to  ridicule  ...  it  was 
thus  that  the  term  ''  Early  Victorian  *'  became  one 
of  reproach. 

No  doubt  this  disparagement  was  inspired  by 
no  mere  wanton  spirit  of  iconoclasm,  but  by  the 
natural  indignation  always  felt  by  a  young 
generation  for  the  dead  hand  of  convention  which 
has  been  imposed  by  an  older  that  has  vanished. 
None  who  believe  in  the  continuity  of  history,  and 
that  the  past  contains  the  future,  will  deny  that 
the  ideals  of  one  age  are  not  only  often  opposed 
but  give  the  lie  direct  to  those  of  another.  Many 
vilify  the  past  in  order  to  make  the  present  seem 
more  tolerable  than  it  is.  They  exaggerate  past 
evils  in  the  hope  of  finding  present  enjoyment  in 
the  happiness  they  long  for.  Man,  as  Michelet 
said,  is  his  own  Prometheus.  But  this  singular 
mania  for  slandering  ourselves,  for  parading  old 
grievances,  must  sooner  or  later  prove  fatal. 
If  we  despise  our  achievements,  others  too  will 
readily  believe  they  are  contemptible.  The  pres- 
tige of  no  people  can  endure  such  a  test  with 
impunity.  The  Italians  of  the  Renaissance  still 
possessed  their  freedom,  but  when  Machiavelli 
exposed  their  weakness  they  lost  it.  History  is 
full  of  such  examples.    The  Fifth  Commandment, 


AUTHOR^S    PREFACE  11 

like  all  divine  laws,  is  based  on  a  fundamental 
fact  of  life. 

The  experience  by  which  the  realisation  of  this 
profound  truth  is  acquired  is  the  revenge  of  Time. 
Human  achievements  always  seem  greater  and 
grander  as  their  performance  becomes  more  and 
more  difficult,  their  incentive  less  and  less  possible. 
The  further  the  past  recedes  the  more  wonderful 
it  becomes.  Succeeding  ages  look  back  upon  it 
with  envy  or  regret.  Romance  envelops  and 
poetry  ennobles  it.  Often  a  once  glorious  past 
is  all  that  is  left  to  a  race.  Sometimes,  too,  it  has 
happened  that  the  sentiment  inspired  by  its 
hallowed  memory  contains  the  elixir  of  rejuve- 
nescence. Reverence  is  the  fruit  of  the  tree  of 
experience. 

For  us  in  England,  more  than  elsewhere,  the 
age  that  has  passed  has  a  message  which,  if  we 
are  wise,  we  will  take  to  heart.  There  are  sermons 
in  epochs  as  there  are  in  stones.  The  text  of  the 
nineteenth  century's  is  ConciHation.  It  is  the 
abracadabra  of  happiness.  Whatever  the  judg- 
ment of  the  future  may  be  on  the  past,  it  may, 
at  least,  be  predicted  with  certainty  that  it  will 
not  be  one  of  belittlement.  As  Time  unfolds  the 
romance  of  the  age  of  Victoria  and  Edward  VII 
the  part  played  by  royalty  in  the  stately  drama 
will  be  found  to  be  one  of  the  most  edifying,  and 
that  of  Queen  Alexandra,  in  particular,  one  of  the 
most  sympathetic  and  lovable. 


CONTENTS 
CHAPTER  I 

ROYALTY 

I.  The  significance  of  royalty — Its  origin — The  first  kings — Belief 
in  their  divinity — Traces  of  the  superstition  in  modern  times — Ho'vr 
royalty  turned  it  to  account — Royalty  and  Christianity — Popular 
conception  of  kingship  in  primitive  society — The  origin  of  democracy — 
Early  attempts  to  limit  royal  authority — The  doctrine  of  Divine  Right — 
How  democracy  interpreted  it — The  deification  of  democracy  by  th© 
French  Revolution.  II.  European  royalty  before  the  French  Revolu- 
tion— The  courts  of  the  old  regime — The  tyranny  of  etiquette — Its 
sinister  influence  on  royalty — "  L'dtat,  c'est  moi  " — Callous  indifference 
of  royalty  to  the  people — Its  retribution — Was  royalty  altogether  to 
blame  ? — Censure  confounded  with  judgment — The  survival  of  the 
idea  of  royalty — Its  capacity  of  assimilation — The  royal  house  of 
ij,  Denmark pp.  21-33 

CHAPTER  II 

EARLY  INFLUENCES 

I.  Birth  of  the  Princess  Alexandra — Her  parents — A  marriage  for 
love — Straitened  circumstances — Extreme  simpUcity  and  contentment 
of  Prince  and  Princess  Christian's  mode  of  life — ^The  impression  it 
produced.  II.  Political  events  of  the  Princess's  early  Hfe — Their 
influence  on  her  future — King  Christian  VIII  of  Denmark — His  pic- 
turesque personality — His  adventurous  early  career — The  "  champion 
of  Uberty  " — Extravagant  hopes  based  on  his  accession — Their  dis- 
appointment— The  king's  difficulties — The  demands  of  the  Danes — Of 
Schleswig-Holstein — Impossibility  of  satisfying  both — The  question  of 
the  succession — Its  importance — How  the  King  tried  to  settle  it — 
Indifference  of  the  Danes — Unpopularity  and  death  of  Christian  VIII. 
III.  A  dying  dynasty — Frederick  VII,  the  last  of  his  Une — A  royal  Bo- 
hemian— His  scandalous  life — The  Countess  Danner — Popularity  of 
Frederick  VII — Its  secret — Attempted  separation  of  Schleswig- 
Holstein  from  Denmark — The  first  Schleswig  War — The  treaty  of 
peace — ^The  settlement  of  the  succession  by  the  Powers — Prince  Chris- 

13 


14  CONTENTS 

tian  recognised  as  Heir  to  the  Throne — The  corner-stone  of  the  Princess 
Alexandra's  career.  IV.  Early  life  of  the  Princess — The  castle  of 
Bemstorff — Education  of  the  Princess — A  united  family — The  power  of 
sentiment — The  Princess  Alexandra  at  sixteen — Her  first  meeting  with 
the  Prince  of  Wales  .         .         .         .         .         .  .  pp.  34-56 


CHAPTER  III 

THE   MARRIAGE 

I.  Queen  Victoria  at  eighteen — The  birth  of  the  Prince  of  Wales — 
The  joy  of  the  nation — Early  speculation  as  to  his  marriage — Tht 
great  importance  attached  to  it — The  lack  of  ehgible  princesses — The 
quest  for  a  bride — The  suggestion  of  a  maid  of  honour — Queen  Victoria's 
approval — The  progress  of  the  negotiations — The  meeting  in  the  cathe- 
dral of  Speier.  II,  Sudden  death  of  the  Prince  Consort — Interruption 
of  the  marriage  project — Difficulty  of  resuming  the  negotiations — ^The 
necessity  for  secrecy — Queen  Victoria  visits  Brussels — The  Princess 
Alexandra  at  Ostend — Her  meeting  with  the  Queen — To  be  or  not  to 
be  ? — The  Queen  is  "  quite  enchanted  " — A  royal  proposal — Strange 
delay  in  announcing  the  betrothal — How  the  news  was  received  in 
Denmark — In  England.  III.  Denmark  "  en  file  " — Departure  of 
the  Princess — Remarkable  ovations  she  received  everywhere  on  her 
journey — Political  significance  attached  to  her  on  the  Continent — 
What  England  expected.  IV.  How  London  awaited  the  bride  of  the 
Prince  of  Wales — Her  arrival  at  Greenwich — The  royal  entry  into 
London — Delirious  enthusiasm  of  the  people — Democracy  pays  homage 
to  royalty — Opinions  of  the  press.  V.  The  wedding  in  St.  George's 
Chapel,  Windsor — Magnificence  of  the  spectacle — The  dignity  of  the 
Prince  of  Wales — The  arrival  of  the  bride — The  admiration  she  aroused 
— Impression  of  Dickens;  of  Thackeray — Queen  Victoria's  emotion — 
The  national  rejoicings — Tennyson's  "  Welcome  "  .         .         pp.  57-94 

CHAPTER  IV 

THE   CHARM  OF  THE   QUEEN 

I.  Demeanour  of  the  Princess  on  her  entry  into  London — Th« 
general  impression — Irresistible  appeal  of  her  personality — Alexandra 
Sitnpatica.  II.  Early  photographs  of  the  Princess — Their  lack 
of  resemblance — ^The  elusive  quality  of  her  charm — The  opinions  of 
celebrated  painters  and  sculptors — Benjamin  Constant's  portrait — 
Peerless  beauty  of  the  Princess — A  woman's  impression.  III.  Deeply 
religious  nature  of  the  Princess — Her  tolerance  and  cheerfulness — Her 
admiration  of  Gladstone — Her  sympathy  for  Mrs.  Gladstone  on  his 
death — Her  impulsiveness — How  it  appealed  to  the  pubUc — Death  of 
Cecil  Rhodes — Inflamed  state  of  pubUc  opinion — The  Queen's  tribute- 
Its  dignity — ^The  Marathon  Race — Interest  it  aroused — Its  dramatic 


CONTENTS  15 

finish — Popular  sympathy  for  the  loser — Impulsive  conduct  of  the 
Queen — The  extraordinary  enthusiasm  it  excited — ^The  secret  of  her 
life-long  appeal  to  the  masses      .....        pp.  95-1 1 1 

CHAPTER  V 

DOMESTIC  RELATIONS 

I.  Bourgeois  character  of  the  nineteenth  century — Its  effect  on 
royalty — Domesticity  of  royal  lives — Idyllic  happiness  of  Queen  Vic- 
toria's marriage — Its  appeal  to  English  sentiment — ^The  secret  of  the 
popular  interest  in  the  Rince  of  Wales's  marriage.  II.  Serious  illness 
of  the  Prince — ^Vague  uneasiness  of  the  public — Devoted  conduct  of 
the  Princess — Deep  impression  it  produced — The  Prince  in  danger — 
The  alarm  of  the  nation — Extraordinary  popular  manifestation  of 
loyalty  to  the  Throne — The  suspense  increases — The  final  crisis — Th« 
Prince  sleeps  1 — Relief  of  the  nation — Thank-offering  of  the  Princess — 
The  national  thanksgiving — How  the  people  testified  their  sympathy 
with  the  Princess.  III.  Profound  impression  created  by  this  event — 
Press  opinions  in  France — In  England — Its  true  significance.  IV.  The 
"revers  de  medaille "  of  royal  splendour  —  The  throne-Ught  — 
Its  effect  on  royalty — Royalty's  desire  for  privacy  —  Why  the 
sins  of  royalty  are  the  sins  of  democracy — Public  censure  of  the 
Prince  of  Wales — Its  hypocrisy — Foreign  sympathy — The  elasticity 
of  the  pubhc  conscience — The  dignified  attitude  of  the  Princess  of 
Wales — ^The  Prince's  respect  and  affection  for  his  wife.  V.  The  birth 
of  the  Duke  of  Clarence — Devotion  of  the  Prince  and  Princess  to  their 
children — The  Duke  of  Clarence's  love  for  his  mother — The  pathos  of 
his  illness  and  death — Prostration  of  the  Princess — World-wide  sym- 
pathy for  the  Princess        ......   pp.     I 12-144 

CHAPTER  VI 

THE   QUEEN  AND   STATE   AFFAIRS 

I.  Death  of  Frederick  VII — ^Accession  of  Christian  IX — His  difficult 
position — ^A  fateful  hour  in  Danish  history — Bismarck's  ultimatum — 
Its  rejection  by  the  Danes — British  sympathy — The  "  Alexandra  Cent 
Gardes  " — Intercession  of  the  Princess  of  Wales — ^The  Prince's  en- 
couragement— Queen  Victoria's  opposition — Its  justification — British 
Government's  attempt  at  mediation — Its  failure — HumiUation  of 
Denmark.  II.  Bitter  disillusionment  of  the  Princess — The  Prince's 
sympathy — His  desire  to  take  the  Princess  to  Denmark — The  objections 
of  the  Government — Queen  Victoria  gives  her  consent — The  Princess's 
joy  at  the  warmth  of  her  reception — Popularity  of  the  Prince  in  Den- 
mark— The  significance  of  the  visit.  III.  Pohtical  importance  of  royal 
marriages — ^The  use  the  British  Government  made  of  the  Danish 
connection — How  the  brother  of  the  Princess  of  Wales  became  King  of 
Greece— The  attitude  of  Russia.     IV.  The  family  affections  of  th« 


16  CONTENTS 

Glucksburgs  as  a  factor  to  be  reckoned  with  in  European  politics — Th« 
children  of  Christian  IX  and  the  importance  of  their  marriages — Their 
annual  reunions  in  Denmark — The  strength  of  their  family  affections — 
The  fascination  of  the  Empress  Marie — The  origin  of  the  Anglo-Russian 
alliance — The  death  of  Alexander  III — Despair  of  the  Empress — The 
devotion  of  the  Princess  of  Wales — The  influence  of  the  Empress  over 
her  son,  Nicholas  II — The  isolation  of  the  Czarina — The  birth  of  the 
Czarevitch — The  struggle  for  supremacy  between  the  Empress  and  the 
Czarina — Its  tragic  ending — The  political  value  of  the  Empress's 
affection  for  her  sister — Its  advantage  to  England .         .      pp.  145-174 

CHAPTER  VII 

THE   QUEEN  AND   SOCIETY 

I.  Queen  Victoria's  Court  before  and  after  the  death  of  the  Princ« 
Consort — The  significance  and  importance  of  a  Court  to  a  Monarchy. 

II.  The  seclusion  of  the  Queen — The  public  resentment — The  Queen's 
remarkable  protest — Its  vindication.  Ill,  The  Prince  of  Wales  becomes 
the  Queen's  representative  in  Society — His  qualification  for  the  role — • 
The  brilUant  revival  of  the  London  season — The  Princess  of  Wales's 
first  Drawing-room — The  Guildhall  ball — The  pomp  of  democracy — 
Curiosity  to  see  the  Princess — Mobbed — The  royal  visit  to  Oxford — 
Wild  enthusiasm  of  the  students — The  splendour  of  the  Guards'  ball — 
The  Princess  at  the  opera — Electric  effect  of  her  entry  on  the  audience. 
IV.  European  society — The  Court  of  the  Empress  Eugenie — The  secret 
of  its  prestige — Effect  of  the  Franco- Prussian  War  on  English  Society — 
The  Court  of  the  Prince  of  Wales — Its  cosmopolitan  character — ' 
Immense  influence  of  the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Wales — The  London 
Season  becomes  an  international  institution.  V.  The  gradual  transforma- 
tion of  society  under  democracy — The  decay  of  Victorian  morals — The 
good  influence  of  the  Princess  of  Wales — What  the  monarchy  and  the 
nation  owe  to  her       .......     pp.  175-205 

CHAPTER  VIII 

THE   QUEEN  AND  THE   PEOPLE 

I.  The  manifold  duties  of  royalty — Their  fatigue — ^Their  compensation 
— Political  value  of  royal  visits — The  Prince  and  Princess  of  Wales  in 
Ireland — Extraordinary  success  of  their  Irish  visits — Failure  of  the 
Government  to  take  advantage  of  it.  II.  The  visit  of  the  Prince  and 
Princess  to  Birmingham — The  ultra-radical  mayor — Doubts  as  to  the 
wisdom  of  the  visit — The  charm  of  the  Princess — Its  effect  on  the 
populace — The  warmth  of  the  mayor's  welcome — Punch's  Cartoon — 
The  Princess  trims  the  claws  of  the  lion — Remarkable  result  of  the  visit. 

III.  The  value  of  the  quality  of  mercy — The  right  of  personal  appeal  to 
the  Sovereign — The  importance  attached  to  it  in  former  times — Its 
restriction — The   democratic   substitute — Its    callousness — What    the 


CONTENTS  17 

people  have  lost — The  sympathy  of  royalty  for  the  people — Immense 
importance  of  royal  patronage — Queen  Alexandra's  philanthropic  work 
— What  the  nursing  profession  owes  to  her — Importance  and  apprecia- 
tion of  her  interest  in  the  work  of  the  hospitals — Her  generosity  and 
keen  sense  of  pity.  IV.  The  Queen's  horror  of  cruelty — Her  love  of 
animals — Her  courage  and  coolness  in  the  face  of  danger.  V.  The 
Queen  as  a  musician — Her  love  of  music  and  appreciation  of  musical 
genius — Her  patronage  of  the  opera — What  the  musical  profession  in 
England  owes  to  her — The  degree  of  Doctor  of  Music  conferred  on 
the  Queen         ........      pp.  206-231 

CHAPTER  IX 

A  ROYAL   HOLIDAY 

I.  The  constant  movement  of  royal  lives — ^The  travels  of  kings — Th« 
romance  which  was  attached  to  them  in  former  times — The  effect  on 
literature — The  importance  of  travel  in  the  life  of  modern  royalty. 
II.  The  visit  of  the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Wales  to  Egypt  in  1869 — ■ 
Its  peculiar  interest — Ismail  Pasha,  Viceroy  of  Egypt — ^His  extrava- 
gance and  love  of  splendour — The  arrival  of  the  Prince  and  Princess 
at  Cairo — The  magnificence  with  which  they  were  received — The 
wonders  of  the  Esbekieh  palace — The  departure  of  the  Holy  Carpet  to 
Mecca.  Ill,  The  visit  of  the  Princess  to  the  harem  of  Ismail — ^A  scene 
from  The  Arabian  Nights — The  ladies  of  the  harem — Their  wonderful 
jewels — The  Princess's  disguise.  IV.  The  royal  dahabeah — A  party 
of  Cook's  tourists  in  pursuit — Glimpses  of  the  Princess  on  the  Nile — 
Strolling  in  the  moonlight — In  the  dust-storm — ^At  sunrise — The  Prince 
and  the  crocodile — The  Princess  at  Luxor — In  the  ruins  of  Karnak — 
Her  indefatigable  energy — Lady  Duff-Gordon's  impression  of  the 
Princess — The  Prince  and  Princess  start  for  the  Second  Cataract — 
Failure  of  the  Cook's  tourists  to  overtake  them.  V.  The  Prince  and 
Princess  at  Constantinople — Their  reception  by  the  Sultan  Abdul 
Aziz — The  political  importance  of  the  tour  .  .  .      pp.  232-260 

CHAPTER  X 

QUEEN  CONSORT  AND   QUEEN-MOTHER 

I.  Death  of  Queen  Victoria — ^The  effect  on  the  nation — Its  signifi- 
cance— The  sympathy  of  the  world — The  importance  of  the  Queen — 
The  Victorian  Age — Its  international  character.  II.  The  growth  of 
the  monarchical  spirit  in  England — The  great  personal  influence  of  the 
Queen — Kingship — ^Why  it  retains  its  importance — The  Coronation  of 
an  EngUsh  king — What  it  means — The  Coronation  of  Edward  VII — 
Enthusiasm  of  the  nation — The  splendour  of  the  preparations — 
World-wide  interest  in  the  event — Its  dramatic  postponement — ^The 
nation's  dismay — God  save  the  King  1 — The  impression  of  a  Frenchman — 
Universal  sympathy  for  the  Queen — American  tributes.  III.  Recovery 
2 


18  CONTENTS 

of  the  King — The  "  second  "  Coronation — Its  solemnity — The 
Coronation  of  the  Queen — The  impression  it  created — Splendour  of 
the  Edwardian  regime — Its  effect  on  the  people — Prestige  of  Queen 
Alexandra — Striking  tribute  paid  her  by  the  Boers — The  Queen's 
fascination — The  eulogy  of  a  radical  journalist — Pierre  Loti's  impression 
of  Queen  Alexandra.  IV.  The  serious  side  of  pageantry — Edward 
the  Peacemaker — Modern  royalty's  need  of  peace — Bellicose  democracy 
— Personality  of  King  Edward — President  Roosevelt's  appreciation — 
Death  of  the  King — His  lying-in-state  and  funeral — Sorrow  of  the 
People — Queen  Alexandra's  touching  message  to  the  nation — Impres- 
sion it  produced.  V.  Sadness  of  the  Queen — "  Hvidore  " — The  call 
of  the  past — Queen-mother  and  people — The  nation's  tribute  of  affection 
— Alexandra  Day — The  homage  of  a  Socialist — Reflection  on  the  Queen's 
significance        ........     pp.  261-297 

Genealogical  Chart  of  the  Oldenburg  Dynasty  .  pp.  298-299 
Index      .........     pp.  301-304 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


QUEEN  ALEXANDRA,  1863  .  .  .       Frontispisct 

(After  the  portrait  by  I,auchert) 


CHRISTIAN   IX   AND   QUEEN   LOUISE 

CHRISTIAN  VIII  AND  QUEEN  CAROLINE  AMALIE 
(From  miniatures  by  Johamies  Moller  and  M.  M.  F.  Jaser) 

FREDERICK  VII 

(After  Gertner) 

THE   GULE   PALAIS   AND   BERNSTORFF        .  . 

QUEEN    VICTORIA    AT    EIGHTEEN     . 
(After  Diez) 

THE  PRINCE   CONSORT  .... 

(Prom  a  miniature  by  W.  C  Rom.    Photo,  Augiuitin  Rlichgita) 

THE   PRINCESS  ALEXANDRA    .  .  .  . 

THE  PRINCE  OF  WALES  AT  THE  TIME  OF  HIS  MARRIAGE 
(After  Winterhalter.    Photo,  Augustin  Rischgits) 

QUEEN   ALEXANDRA   IN    1883  .... 

(Photo,  W.  &  D.  Downey) 

QUEEN    VICTORIA    AND    THE    PRINCE    CONSORT    WITH 

THE   PRINCESS   ROYAL 

(From  the  painting  by  Sir  ^win  I,andseer.    Photo,  Augustin  Rischgita) 

QUEEN   ALEXANDRA  AND   HER  CHILDREN 
(Photo,  W.  &.  D.  Downey) 

19 


rACI>G  FAOK 

34 


42 
48 

54 
58 

58 

66 

84 

100 

114 
140 


20  LIST    OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACIMS  PAOB 

KING  GEORGE  I  OF  GREECE  AND  QUEEN  ALEXANDRA      1 58 
(Photo,  W.  &  D.  Downey) 

THE   DUCHESS  OF  CUMBERLAND      .  ,  .  .      164 

THE   EMPRESS  MARIE 168 

THE   FAMILY  OF  CHRISTIAN   IX        ...  .       I74 

(From  the  painting  by  Tuzen) 

QUEEN   VICTORIA   ON   HORSEBACK  .  .  .       182 

(After  Count  d'Orsay.     Photo,  Augustin  Riachgits) 

THE   EMPRESS   EUOiNIE I98 

(After  Winterhalter) 

"  A  BRUMMAGEM   LION  ",,,..      214 
Punch,  November  14,  1874) 

CZAR  ALEXANDER   III    .  .  .  .  .  .       2l8 

(By  permission  of  Messrs.  Grant  Richards,  I«td.) 

THE    PRINCE    AND    PRINCESS    OF  WALES   RIDING    IN 

WINDSOR   PARK    .  .....       226 

(After  Berraud.     Photo,  Augustin  Rischgit*) 

QUEEN   ALEXANDRA   IN   1887  .  .  .  .      230 

(Photo,  The  I^ondon  Stereoscopic  Co.) 

QUEEN   ALEXANDRA   IN    1869  ....       242 

(Photo,  W.  &  D.  Downey) 

QUEEN   VICTORIA   IN   1897 262 

(Photo,  W.  &  D.  Downey) 

KING    EDWARD    VII    AND     QUEEN     ALEXANDRA     AT 

THEIR    CORONATION 27O 

(Photo,  W.  &  D.  Downey) 

QUEEN   ALEXANDRA   IN    I905   WITH   HER  GRANDSON, 

PRINCE   GEORGE    ......       280 

(Photo,  W.  &  D.  Downey) 


QUEEN    ALEXANDRA 


CHAPTER    I 
ROYALTY 


I.    THE  SIGNIFICANCE  OF  ROYALTY — ITS  ORIGIN — THE  FIRST  KINGS — 

BELIEF  IN   THEIR  DIVINITY TRACES   OF  THE  SUPERSTITION  IN   MODERN 

TIMES HOW      ROYALTY      TURNED      IT      TO      ACCOUNT ROYALTY      AND 

CHRISTIANITY POPULAR      CONCEPTION      OF      KINGSHIP      IN      PRIMITIVE 

SOCIETY THE     ORIGIN     OF     DEMOCRACY EARLY    ATTEMPTS     TO     LIMIT 

ROYAL  AUTHORITY THE  DOCTRINE  OF  DIVINE  RIGHT HOW  DEMOCRACY 

INTERPRETED  IT — THE  DEIFICATION  OF  DEMOCRACY  BY  THE  FRENCH 
REVOLUTION.  II.  EUROPEAN  ROYALTY  BEFORE  THE  FRENCH  REVO- 
LUTION  THE  COURTS  OF  THE  OLD  REGIME THE  TYRANNY  OF  ETI- 
QUETTE— ITS  SINISTER  INFLUENCE  ON  ROYALTY "  L'ETAT,    c'EST  MOI  " 

CALLOUS  INDIFFERENCE  OF  ROYALTY  TO  THE  PEOPLE ITS  RETRIBU- 
TION  WAS  ROYALTY  ALTOGETHER   TO  BLAME  ? CENSURE  CONFOUNDED 

WITH  JUDGMENT — THE  SURVIVAL  OF  THE  IDEA  OF  ROYALTY — ITS 
CAPACITY  OF  ASSIMILATION — THE  ROYAL  HOUSE  OF  DENMARK. 


It  is  related  of  the  charming  young  Princesse  de 
Monaco,  who  went  to  the  guillotine  rouged  lest 
her  pallor  should  be  attributed  to  fear,  that  she 
was  so  volatile  and  irresponsible  that  she  thought 
diamonds  were  found  in  rings  and  fruit  in  baskets. 
As  an  example  of  the  thoughtless,  take-it-for- 
granted  manner  in  which  ideas  or  subjects  too 
common  to  be  surprising  are  usually  regarded, 
the  anecdote  might  apply  with  equal  force  to 
most  of  us. 

How  many,  I  wonder,  in  the  crowds  whose 
presence  helps  to  deck  the  route  along  which  a 
king  will  pass  in  state,  ever  give  a  thought  to 

21 


22  ROYALTY 

what  royalty  really  signifies  to  the  nation  of 
which  he  is  the  recognised  head,  if  only  a  figure- 
head ?  How  many,  be  they  loyal  or  hostile,  ever 
question  the  reason  of  the  emotions  they  feel  ? 
Yet  there  is  a  reason,  and  a  profound  one  too, 
so  deeply  embedded  in  human  nature  that  it  is, 
perhaps,  only  in  times  of  revolution,  when  personal 
interests  are  at  stake,  and  cherished  ideals  become 
persistent,  that  the  average  man  and  woman  are 
more  or  less  dimly  conscious  of  its  significance. 

For  the  idea  of  royalty,  like  that  of  religion 
and  democracy  with  which  it  forms  a  sort  of 
trinity,  as  it  were,  has  its  origin  in  the  mists  that 
envelop  the  commencement  of  human  society. 
It  sprang  out  of  the  reverence  that  primitive  man 
paid  to  the  one  who,  by  his  superior  knowledge, 
was  able  to  control  the  invisible  and  mysterious 
forces  of  nature  of  which  he  was  ignorant  and 
afraid. 

The  first  kings  were,  perhaps  without  exception, 
wonder-workers  or  magicians.  In  those  remote 
times  the  affinity  of  magic  to  religion  was  very 
close,  as  it  still  is  among  savage  tribes ;  the  one 
co-operated  and  was  confused  with  the  other. 
Their  subsequent  hostihty  was  caused  by  the 
gradual  discovery,  as  human  society  advanced, 
of  the  inefiiciency  of  magic.  Hence  it  followed 
that  kings  at  first  were  revered  not  only  as  priests, 
who  by  virtue  of  their  magical  arts  were  the 
natural  intercessors  between  man  and  the  gods, 
but  as  gods  themselves.  Krishna,  Osiris,  Odin — 
to  instance  but  a  few  of  the  great  deities  of  remote 
antiquity — were  deified  men.  So  universal  was 
the  belief  in  the  divine  origin  of  kings  in  early 


AN    OLD   SUPERSTITION  28 

times  that  many  see  in  it  a  proof  of  the  much- 
disputed  theory  of  the  homogeneity  of  prehis- 
toric civiUsation. 

The  possession  of  magical  powers,  though  the 
chief,  was  not,  however,  the  only  road  to  a  throne. 
The  sword  played  no  small  part  in  the  making 
of  a  king.  Among  the  barbaric  tribes  of  Europe, 
who  were  constantly  at  war  with  one  another, 
the  only  possible  king  was  often,  as  the  name 
itself  suggests,  the  Can-ing  Man,  the  Man  who 
Could  and  Would.  Such  men,  also,  were  beHeved 
to  possess  magical  powers  and  were  reverenced 
accordingly. 

Traces  of  this  superstition  lingered  long  in 
Europe.  The  origin  of  the  belief  that  the  French 
kings  possessed  the  gift  of  healing  by  touch  is  lost 
in  the  night  of  time.  In  England  Edward  the 
Confessor  was  popularly  believed  to  have  derived 
the  same  gift  from  God,  and  to  have  bequeathed 
it  to  his  successors.  Queen  Elizabeth  frequently 
displayed  this  magical  attribute  of  royalty,  while 
the  Stuarts,  with  their  notorious  claim  to  ''  divine 
right,"  practised  it  commonly  with  effect.  It  is 
stated  that  Charles  I  cured  a  hundred  persons  of 
both  sexes  in  the  Chapel  Royal  at  Holyrood  at 
one  sitting.  Within  a  month  of  his  restoration 
to  the  throne  Charles  II  proceeded  to  emulate  him, 
and  touched  over  one  hundred  thousand  people 
for  scrofula  during  his  reign.  The  crowd  on  these 
occasions  was  sometimes  unmanageable.  Once, 
six  persons  who  came  to  be  healed  by  the  royal 
hand  were  trampled  to  death.  The  case  of  Dr. 
Johnson,  who  was  touched  as  a  child  by  Queen 
Anne  for  king's  evil,  is  celebrated. 


24  ROYALTY 

Royalty,  as  may  be  supposed,  was  quick  to 
turn  to  account  the  properties  with  which  it  was 
popularly  believed  to  be  endowed.  Insistence  on 
a  divine  right,  or  at  least  on  a  divine  protection, 
was  too  sure  a  means  of  establishing  and  increasing 
royal  power  to  be  neglected.  All  the  dynasties 
of  antiquity  boasted  a  divine  descent.  So  great 
was  the  advantage  derived  from  the  claim  that 
the  aristocracies  which  always  spring  up  around  a 
throne,  and  without  whose  support,  according  to 
Madame  de  Stael,  monarchy  cannot  exist,  were 
encouraged  to  follow  the  kingly  example.  In 
Greece  and  Rome,  even  after  royalty  had  fallen 
into  discredit,  the  noblest  families  continued  to 
boast  of  their  descent  from  demi-gods  or  heroes. 
Pride  in  an  ancient  pedigree  whose  origin  is  lost 
in  the  mists  of  history  is  still  common  throughout 
the  world. 

In  Rome  the  Caesars,  on  assuming  the  imperial 
purple,  caused  themselves  to  be  deified  to  justify 
their  claim  to  supreme  power.  Later,  Christianity, 
as  Constantine  the  Great  clearly  perceived,  was  an 
additional  source  of  strength  to  the  idea  of  royalty, 
and  the  Church  has  ever  since  supported  his  view. 
Throughout  the  Middle  Ages  obedience  to  kings, 
as  the  vicars  of  God,  was  taught  as  a  Christian 
duty.  The  sanctity  of  the  majesty  of  kings  is 
still  recognised.  Every  coronation  is  a  conse- 
cration. 

In  spite  of  the  immense  revolution  in  the  concep- 
tion of  royalty  that  has  taken  place  in  the  modern 
world,  many  instances  could  be  cited  to  show 
how  the  influence  of  the  old  tradition  of  its  divine 
connection  continues  to  survive.     Carlyle,  though 


INFLUENCE   OF  TRADITION  25 

anything  but  a  sycophant,  yielded  to  it  uncon- 
sciously when,  carried  away  by  pity  and  indig- 
nation over  the  tragic  fate  of  the  Princesse  de 
Lamballe,  he  described  her  as  ''  king-descended, 
god-descended." 

A  still  more  curious  instance  occurred  during 
the  wedding  procession  through  the  streets  of 
Madrid  of  the  present  King  of  Spain,  Alfonso 
XIII.  On  this  occasion  a  bomb  was  thrown  at 
the  monarch  from  a  window  along  the  route.  In 
the  panic  that  ensued  the  terrified  populace,  as  if 
urged  by  some  sub-conscious  atavistic  impulse, 
actually  sought  safety  round  the  royal  carriage, 
though  there,  if  anywhere  at  such  a  moment,  was 
the  greatest  danger. 


Now  the  early  conception  of  royalty  was  not  so 
crude  as  it  seems.  Another,  originating  at  the 
same  time,  was  woven  around  it.  Man  in  primi- 
tive times  was  very  cunning.  The  instinct  of  self- 
preservation  which  caused  him  to  deify  his  priest 
or  king  was  not  satisfied  with  this  means  of  pro- 
tection alone.  To  make  sure  of  always  enjoying 
it,  he  sought  to  obtain  a  guarantee  of  good  faith. 

The  elevation  of  the  king  into  a  human  god  was 
contingent  on  his  continuing  to  perform  the 
wonderful  protective  functions  by  the  possession 
of  which  he  had  attained  divine  eminence.  The 
king  existed  in  the  popular  mind  solely  for  the 
benefit  of  his  subjects,  and  his  life  was  valuable  to 
them,  and  he  was  worshipped  only  so  long  as  he 
faithfully  discharged  the  duties  of  his  position. 


26  ROYALTY 

The  moment  he  failed  he  was  divested  of  his 
divinity,  and  the  homage  and  veneration  he  had 
received  changed  to  hatred  and  contempt.  The 
punishment  for  failure  was  death,  exile,  or  com- 
plete repudiation.  Indeed,  not  only  were  kings 
killed  in  early  times  when  their  power  to  protect 
failed,  but  to  prevent  such  a  contingency  they 
were  often  killed  after  reigning  a  fixed  time.  So 
intense  was  the  desire  for  protection  that  no 
precaution  was  too  great  to  obtain  it. 

This  early  conception  of  the  king  as  the  servant, 
rather  than  the  nder,  of  the  people  is  the  origin 
of  the  idea  of  Democracy. 

But  the  limitations  thus  set  to  royal  authority 
proved  ineffectual.  The  penalty  attached  to 
kingship  created  a  rift  between  kings  and  their 
subjects  which  deepened  as  society  advanced. 
History  is  one  long  record  of  man's  attempt  to 
destroy  the  Frankenstein,  as  it  were, he  had  created. 
National  or  racial  characteristics  determined  the 
nature  of  this  struggle.  In  Asia,  where  the  idea 
of  royalty  was  strongest,  it  took  the  form  of 
assassinations  and  the  overthrow  of  dynasties,  in 
which  whole  nations  were  engulfed.  In  Israel 
denunciations  and  threats  of  divine  vengeance 
were  hurled  at  the  kings,  most  of  whom  were 
accused  of  ''  doing  evil  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord." 
The  European  temper  was  different.  Most  of  the 
Greek  states  succeeded  in  banishing  their  kings, 
though  ever  living  in  fear  of  their  return.  The 
Spartans  alone  managed  to  bend  them  to  their 
will.  Rome,  early  in  her  history,  expelled  her 
kings,  only  in  the  end  to  fall  completely  under  the 
sway  of  deified  despots. 


DIVINE   RIGHT  27 

In  England  the  struggle  between  the  throne  and 
the  people  was  complicated  by  the  attempt  of  a 
foreign  power  to  subject  both.  The  re-statement 
by  James  I  and  his  successor  of  the  old  doctrine 
of  the  Divine  Right  of  Kings  was  no  empty  form 
of  speech.  In  a  Protestant  country  but  lately 
freed  from  the  shackles  of  Rome  it  was  interpreted 
as  the  divine  right  of  the  secular  government,  of 
which  the  king  was  the  recognised  head,  to  remain 
free  from  papal  control.  In  the  seventeenth 
century  all  theories  were  theories  of  divine  right. 
Thus  the  popular  belief  that  kingship  was  in  some 
special  way  under  divine  protection  developed  in 
England  into  a  democratic  principle.  The  effect 
of  this  conception  on  the  world  was  enormous. 
A  century  later  the  struggle  ended  with  the 
triumphant  reassertion  of  the  original  conception 
of  royalty,  which  was,  as  Fenelon  said,  that 
''  kings  were  made  for  the  people,  and  not  people 
for  the  kings.*' 

The  French  Revolution  was  the  deification  of  de- 
mocracy. Henceforth  it  mattered  little  whether 
kingship  was  hereditary  or  elected;  kings  or 
presidents,  or  whatever  they  were  called,  it  was 
the  people  only  who  were  divine. 

II 

The  eighteenth  century  was  royalty's  hey-day. 
The  religious  wars,  with  their  strong  democratic 
tendencies,  were  long  past.  In  France  the  Fronde, 
that  futile  aristocratic  protest,  had  ended,  as  it 
was  bound  to  do,  in  acquiescence.  In  England 
the   '*  trouble,"   as  the  triumphant  partisans  of 


28  ROYALTY 

royalty  termed  the  Civil  War,  had  been  com- 
posed in  the  English  fashion  by  compromise. 
Everywhere  in  Europe  the  institution  of  royalty 
appeared,  to  the  outward  eye  at  least,  inviolable. 

The  effect  on  royalty  itself,  however,  of  such 
splendid  security  had  been  injurious.  In  the 
process  of  evolution  the  caste  of  kings  seemed  to 
have  lost  nearly  all  the  attributes  of  the  human 
species.  The  Courts  in  which  this  hybrid  breed  were 
propagated  were  peculiarly  well  adapted  to  produce 
an  abnormal  type.  The  air  in  these  incubators 
was  steeped  in  intrigue  and  conspiracy,  treachery 
and  deceit ;  and  the  temperature  was  maintained 
at  the  requisite  degree  by  a  lamp  whose  fierce 
light  penetrated  unceasingly  day  and  night  into 
every  crook  and  cranny  of  the  royal  soul.  Privacy 
was  a  privilege  that  royalty,  with  all  its  power, 
could  never  acquire.  For  the  same  reason  it  was 
compelled  to  accept  flattery  as  truth.  Though 
free  to  think  and  act  as  it  liked,  its  condition  was 
one  of  splendid  bondage. 

At  Versailles,  which  every  Court  in  Europe 
sought  to  imitate,  the  laws  of  etiquette  were 
observed  in  preference  to  the  king's  comfort  or 
convenience.  It  is  related  that,  on  one  occasion, 
the  sovereign  was  obliged  to  stand  naked  and 
shivering  in  the  royal  bedroom  because  the  great 
lord  who  alone  had  the  privilege  of  handing  him 
his  nightshirt  was  absent.  Death  was  the  punish- 
ment for  touching  the  person  of  the  Queens  of 
Spain.  One  of  them,  thrown  from  her  saddle 
when  riding,  was  only  saved  from  a  terrible  death 
by  two  gentlemen  who  dared  to  free  her  foot  from 
the  stirrup  in  which  it  was  caught.     So  conscious 


ETIQUETTE  29 

were  they  of  the  peril  to  which  this  act  exposed 
them  that  they  prepared  to  flee  the  country,  and 
were  only  prevented  by  the  royal  clemency  which 
in  its  turn  dared  to  pardon  them.  Marie  Antoi- 
nette's high-spirited  and  continuous  defiance  of 
etiquette,  it  is  well  known,  contributed  largely  to 
hasten  the  French  Revolution. 

The  sub-conscious  souvenir  of  what  untold 
terror  and  misery  must  have  lurked  in  all  this 
denaturalising  etiquette,  which  had  itself  evolved 
from  the  frightful  laws  that  regulated  the  lives 
of  kings  in  the  earliest  times  ! 

The  etiquette  of  the  Spanish  Court  was  anthro- 
pophagic.  In  that  sombre  atmosphere  there 
was  a  perpetual  suggestion  of  sacrifice.  The 
palace  of  the  Escorial  was  also  a  mausoleum.  No 
gleam  of  joy  seems  ever  to  have  penetrated  the 
lives  of  the  Spanish  autocrats.  Immured  in  their 
grave  of  a  Court,  haunted  by  the  fear  of  death, 
they  all  became  morbid  and  many  of  them  mad. 
One  of  them  even  descended  in  state  with  his 
whole  Court  into  the  royal  vaults  of  the  palace 
and  caused  the  tombs  to  be  opened,  in  order  that 
he  might  gaze  upon  his  dead  ancestors. 

In  France,  on  the  contrary,  owing  to  the  lighter, 
happier  nature  of  the  people,  death  was  never 
mentioned  in  the  presence  of  royalty.  A  tutor  of 
one  of  the  Dauphins  so  shocked  him  by  making  use 
of  the  expression  ''the  late  king"  that  he  apologised 
by  explaining  it  was  a  **  title  kings  took.*'  To  die 
at  Versailles  was  an  offence.  When  Madame  de 
Vintimille  died  there  suddenly,  though  she  was  at 
the  time  the  adored  favourite  of  Louis  XV,  the 
order  was  given  that  her  body  should  be  instantly 


«0  ROYALTY 

removed  from  the  palace.  In  their  haste  to  obey, 
those  who  had  charge  of  the  corpse  were  obUged 
to  leave  it  in  a  stable  for  lack  of  a  better  place. 
The  very  kings  themselves,  for  all  their  splen- 
dour and  majesty  in  life,  were  hurried  into  their 
tombs  as  quickly  as  possible  without  pomp  or 
ceremony.  "  Le  roi  est  mort ;  vive  le  roi  I "  was  the 
phoenix-like  formula  observed  when  the  death  of 
a  king  was  announced. 

That  under  such  circumstances  character  should 
become  distorted  and  natural  feeling  atrophied  is 
not  surprising.  The  attitude  of  royalty  to  itself 
was  abnormal.  Of  all  the  ties  that  bound  royal 
families  together,  the  weakest  was  the  tie  of  con- 
sanguinity. Relationship  meant  little  or  nothing 
to  royalty.  The  majesty  of  the  king  created  a  bar- 
rier between  him  and  his  family.  Thus  mutually 
estranged,  intimacy  became  well-nigh  impossible. 
Suspicion,  once  aroused,  often  ended  fatally. 
Peter  the  Great  and  Philip  II  actually  killed 
their  sons,  and  Frederick  the  Great,  when  a  boy, 
barely  escaped  a  similar  fate.  There  was  not 
a  dynasty  in  Europe  but  contained  in  its  annals 
the  record  of  some  monstrous  crime. 

The  comparatively  few  instances  of  devotion 
are  morbid  and  unnatural.  It  is  related  of  a 
certain  English  king  that  his  grief  on  losing  an 
idolised  son  was  so  great  that  he  never  smiled 
again.  The  devotion  of  Peter  I  of  Portugal  to 
the  memory  of  his  passionately  loved  and  unfor- 
tunate wife,  Inez  de  Castro,  was  such  that  he 
caused  her  body  to  be  disinterred  and  crowned  in 
state  beside  him.  The  affection  that  existed 
between  Frederick  the  Great  and  his  sister  Wil- 


L»ETAT,  C'EST  MOI !  81 

helmina  sprang  out  of  their  common  fear  of  their 
father,  and  was  intensified  by  their  common 
sufferings.  Rare,  indeed,  are  the  instances  of 
healthy,  natural  affection.  The  case  of  the  gentle 
and  saintly  Madame  Elizabeth,  who  refused  to 
desert  Louis  XVI  and  Marie  Antoinette,  and  by 
so  doing  shared  their  tragic  fate,  is  perhaps  unique 
in  history. 

But  while  family  instincts  were  distorted,  and 
jealousy  and  hatred  took  the  place  of  what  should 
have  been  trust  and  love,  the  craving  for  human 
sympathy  could  not  be  stifled.  Royalty  con- 
sequently sought  to  obtain  from  without  what 
it  was  impossible  to  procure  from  within  itself, 
and  to  this  inextinguishable  passion  of  all  humanity 
for  love  and  friendship  were  due  the  favourites  of 
kings,  male  and  female,  whose  sinister  influence 
has  been  felt  in  every  country. 

The  extreme  selfishness  and  callous  indifference 
that  resulted  from  the  starving  of  the  most  natural 
instincts  and  emotions  of  human  nature  rendered 
it  impossible  for  royalty  to  sympathise  with  or 
understand  the  needs  of  the  people.  The  fate 
of  nations  depended  solely  on  the  personal  in- 
terests of  their  rulers.  ''  L'etat,  c'est  moi,"  as 
Louis  XIV  declared,  was  an  actual  fact.  The 
State  was  a  royal  chattel,  and  treated  as  such. 
The  Prince  de  Ligne  relates  hearing  the  Empress 
Catherine  and  Joseph  II  reckoning  up  the  number 
of  people  each  possessed  and  bartering  them  by 
the  province-full  as  if  they  were  cattle. 

It  was  the  custom  in  Spain  and  Portugal  to 
celebrate  royal  marriages  by  an  auto-da-fe.  In 
England  the  sovereign  was  addressed,  and  still  is 


82  ROYALTY 

officially,  with  the  humility  characteristic  of  the 
grandiloquent  servility  of  the  East.  The  example 
set  by  royalty  was  followed  by  their  dependents. 
At  the  French  Court  it  was  denied  that  anyone  of 
lesser  rank  than  a  baron  was  human.  It  is  true 
Madame  de  Sabran  once  told  the  Regent  d' Orleans 
that  he  was  made  of  the  same  mud  as  a  lacquey  ; 
but  this  was  said  in  the  intimacy  of  a  peiit  souper 
in  the  petits  appartements,  when  the  cynical  Regent 
allowed  his  favourites  to  say  what  they  liked 
under  the  influence  of  champagne.  Indeed,  so  far 
did  the  royal  indifference  to  the  common  herd  go, 
that  the  Comte  de  Clermont,  when  lacking  other 
amusement,  used  to  ascend  to  the  roof  of  his 
palace  and  shoot  at  the  passers-by  in  the  street 
below  ! 


There  are  still  many,  as  in  the  French  Revolu- 
tion, who  deem  its  fury  excusable  and  a  just  retribu- 
tion for  this  hideous  human  callousness.  But  was 
royalty  altogether  to  blame  ?  Surely  in  justice 
to  itself  democracy,  which  still  persists,  in  spite  of 
all  its  protestations,  to  regard  men  as  cannon- 
fodder,  maybe  excused  from  asking  such  a  question. 
Censure  and  judgment  are  too  often  confounded. 
The  history  of  the  last  years  of  the  old  regime  is 
filled  with  proofs  that  royalty  was  conscious  of 
the  manner  in  which  it  had  been  deformed  and 
strove  vainly  to  find  a  cure.  In  the  grip  of  the 
dead  hand  of  feudalism  it  was  utterly  helpless. 

To  condemn  royalty  is  not  to  judge  it.  That  it 
has  survived  the  French  Revolution  is  its  justifica- 
tion.   There  must  have  been  some  deep  reason, 


A  GREAT  QUALITY  8S 

some  profound  truth  after  all  in  its  early  concep- 
tion which  human  nature  acknowledged,  and  to 
which  it  owes  its  persistence. 

'*  Failure/'  said  Guizot,  '*  to  consider  royalty  as 
an  idea  and  to  understand  the  principle  which  is 
the  very  essence  of  its  conception  ;  failure  to  take 
mto  account  the  various  forms  this  idea  is  capable 
of  assuming  and  all  the  various  principles  to  which 
it  is  able  to  attach  itself ;  failure,  I  repeat,  to 
consider  royalty  from  this  double  and  vast  point 
of  view  is  the  reason  why  the  role  it  has  played  in 
the  history  of  the  world,  as  well  as  its  nature  and 
effect,  are  so  often  misunderstood/' 

In  this  connection,  emphasis  should  be  laid  on 
the  ability  of  royalty  to  attach  itself  to  ideas 
seemingly  opposed  to  it — a  characteristic  which 
has  been  claimed  as  one  of  its  greatest  quahties. 

The  necessity  of  assimilating  monarchy  and 
democracy,  if  the  monarchical  principle  was  to  be 
maintained,  was  quickly  and  generally  understood 
after  Waterloo  by  royalty.  How  far  this  has 
succeeded  in  the  various  countries  of  Europe  may 
be  measured  by  the  capacity  of  royalty,  as  Saint- 
Priest  puts  it,  "  to  contract  and  expand  to  suit 
time,  place,  nationality,  and  the  progress  of 
civilisation.'* 

Nowhere  has  this  capacity  been  greater,  or  have 
its  results  been  more  successful,  than  in  the  Royal 
House  of  Denmark. 


CHAPTER  II 

EARLY  INFLUENCES 


I.   BIRTH  OF  THE  PRINCESS  ALEXANDRA — ^HER  PARENTS A  MARRIAGE 

FOR    LOVE STRAITENED    CIRCUMSTANCES EXTREME     SIMPLICITY     AND 

CONTENTMENT  OF  PRINCE  AND   PRINCESS   CHRISTIAN'S  MODE   OF   LIFE 

THE  IMPRESSION  IT  PRODUCED.  II.  POLITICAL  EVENTS  OF  THE  PRINCESS'S 

EARLY  LIFE THEIR  INFLUENCE  ON  HER  FUTURE KING  CHRISTIAN  VIII 

OF      DENMARK HIS     PICTURESQUE     PERSONALITY HIS     ADVENTUROUS 

EARLY  CAREER THE  "  CHAMPION  OF  LIBERTY  " EXTRAVAGANT  HOPES 

BASED      ON      HIS      ACCESSION THEIR      DISAPPOINTMENT THE      KING'S 

DIFFICULTIES THE  DEMANDS  OF  THE  DANES OF  SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN 

IMPOSSIBILITY  OF  SATISFYING  BOTH THE  QUESTION  OF  THE  SUCCES^ 

SION ITS     IMPORTANCE HOW     THE     KING     TRIED     TO     SETTLE     IT IN- 
DIFFERENCE OF  THE  DANES UNPOPULARITY  AND  DEATH  OF  CHRISTIAN 

VIII.      III.    A  DYING  DYNASTY FREDERICK  VII,  THE  LAST  OF  HIS  LINE 

A  ROYAL  BOHEMIAN HIS  SCANDALOUS  LIFE THE  COUNTESS  DANNER 

POPULARITY  OF  FREDERICK  VII ITS  SECRET ATTEMPTED   SEPARATION 

OF   SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN   FROM  DENMARK THE  FIRST   SCHLESWIG  WAR 

THE    TREATY    OF    PEACE THE    SETTLEMENT    OF    THE    SUCCESSION    BY 

THE  POWERS PRINCE  CHRISTIAN  RECOGNISED  AS  HEIR  TO  THE  THRONE 

THE  CORNER-STONE  OF  THE  PRINCESS  ALEXANDRA'S  CAREER.    IV.  EARLY 

LIFE    OF    THE    PRINCESS THE    CASTLE    OF   BERNSTORFF ^EDUCATION    OF 

THE    PRINCESS — A  UNITED  FAMILY — ^THE    POWER    OF    SENTIMENT — THE 

PRINCESS     ALEXANDRA     AT    SIXTEEN HER    FIRST    MEETING   WITH  THE 

PRINCE  OF  WALES. 


On  the  ist  of  December,  1844,  ^  daughter  was  born 
in  the  Gule  Palais  at  Copenhagen  to  the  young 
Prince  and  Princess  Christian  of  Glucksburg.  At 
her  christening  a  few  days  later  she  was  named 
Alexandra  Caroline  Marie  Charlotte  Louise  Julie. 
The  first  name,  Alexandra,  was  that  of  her  god- 
mother, the  only  daughter  of  the  Czar  Nicholas  I 
of  Russia,  and  her  aunt  by  marriage. 

At  the  time  of  her  birth  her  father  little  dreamt 

34 


>      l'       5       J       <• 


)       > 


PRINCE  CHRISTIAN  OF  GLUCKSBURG     85 

that  he  would  one  day  become  King  of  Denmark. 
Though  related  to  the  reigning  dynasty,  which 
was  threatened  with  extinction,  the  Glucksburgs 
were  so  far  removed  from  the  line  of  succession 
that  they  never  even  contemplated  putting  in  a 
claim.  Prince  Christian,  indeed,  started  life  with 
very  limited  prospects.  He  was  the  fourth  son 
and  the  sixth  of  the  nine  children  of  the  Duke  of 
Glucksburg,  whose  fortune  had  been  so  crippled 
by  the  disasters  of  the  Napoleonic  wars  that  he 
was  quite  unable  to  make  any  provision  for  his 
family.  On  his  death  his  eldest  son  succeeded  to 
his  impoverished  dukedom,  while  various  friends 
and  relations  charitably  undertook  to  look  after 
the  others.  The  Hereditary  Prince  of  Denmark, 
nephew  and  heir  of  the  king,  whom  he  afterwards 
succeeded,  took  charge  of  Prince  Christian,  then 
a  boy  of  thirteen.  Having  educated  the  lad,  he 
provided  him  with  a  commission  in  the  Guards. 
Beyond  advancing  him  in  the  service,  even  when 
he  became  king,  he  could  do  little  for  his  protege. 
His  commission,  however,  served  to  give  the  young 
man  a  career  worthy  of  his  rank,  which  was  all  he 
was  entitled  to  expect  and  all  that  he  desired. 

Later,  when  the  Hereditary  Prince  succeeded 
to  the  throne  as  Christian  VIII,  and  his  only 
sister,  the  Landgravine  of  Hesse-Cassel,  paid  him 
a  visit  accompanied  by  her  two  daughters,  Prince 
Christian  fell  deeply  in  love  with  the  younger, 
Louise.  She  returned  his  affection,  and,  as  both 
the  King  and  the  Landgravine  approved  of  the 
match,  they  were  married.  The  fact  that  the 
young  couple  would  have  nothing  but  Prince 
Christian's  pay  as  a  Captain  in  the  Guards   on 


86  EARLY   INFLUENCES 

which  to  Uve  was  apparently  the  last  thing  to 
which  any  of  them  gave  a  thought. 

King  Christian  lent  them  the  modest  Gule 
Palais  in  Copenhagen  as  a  residence,  and  from 
time  to  time  doubtless  they  received  some  financial 
assistance  from  him  and  the  Landgravine ;  but  it 
could  never  at  any  time  have  been  great,  and  they 
did  not  rely  on  it.  But,  straitened  though  their 
circumstances  were.  Prince  Christian  and  his  wife 
seemed  quite  content.  They  did  not  resort  to 
any  of  the  various  expedients  by  which  people 
endeavour  to  keep  up  appearances.  The  ex- 
treme simplicity  of  their  tastes  saved  them  from 
extravagance,  and  the  consciousness  of  their  rank 
from  the  false  pride  with  which  so  many  in  inferior 
stations  are  afflicted.  Princess  Christian,  before 
her  marriage,  had  been  taught  the  art  of  house- 
keeping, and  it  afforded  her  now  no  small  pleasure 
to  turn  her  knowledge  to  account.  A  capable 
manager,  she  personally  supervised  every  detail 
of  her  modest  establishment.  Her  husband's 
admiration  for  her  capacity  was  as  boundless  as 
it  was  justified. 

*'  Ah,''  he  replied  once  to  some  friendly  sym- 
pathiser, **  I  am  not  as  poor  as  I  seem.  You 
forget  I  have  a  pearl  without  price." 

Household  cares  were,  however,  by  no  means 
Princess  Christian's  sole  preoccupation.  As  the 
presiding  genius  of  the  home,  she  found  time 
for  everything.  Keenly  alive  to  her  husband's 
welfare,  she  kept  herself  well  posted  in  Danish 
politics,  and  by  corresponding  frequently  with 
her  numerous  relations,  to  whom  she  paid  yearly 
visits,  she  was  well  informed  on  current  European 


A  NOBLE  EXAMPLE  8T 

affairs.  Prince  Christian  did  nothing  without 
consulting  her.  His  reliance  on  her  was  such 
that  in  after-years,  when  he  became  king,  people 
used  to  say  of  him  :  ''  Leroi,  c' est  la  reinej'  That 
Bismarck,  whom  she  regarded  with  abhorrence, 
considered  her  a  formidable  enemy  is  proof  of 
her  ability.  In  fine,  as  was  said  of  the  Countess 
Waleska,  the  wife  of  Napoleon  IIFs  Minister  of 
Foreign  Affairs,  Princess  Christian  was  the  ''  best 
page  in  her  husband's  portfolio.** 

Their  personalities  were  such  as  would  have 
rendered  them  popular  under  any  circumstances. 
Never  at  any  time  in  their  lives,  even  when 
political  passions  were  bitterest,  was  the  personal 
popularity  of  Christian  IX  or  his  queen  in  doubt. 
In  these  early  years  the  example  they  afforded 
of  unruffled  conjugal  felicity,  under  conditions 
that  are  generally  considered  unfavourable  to  it, 
appealed  powerfully  to  the  popular  imagination, 
which  was  struck  not  so  much  by  their  simple 
family  life — few  in  Denmark,  high  or  low,  lived 
otherwise — as  by  the  unusual  spectacle  of  royalty 
finding  happiness  without  losing  dignity  in  the 
practice  of  simplicity.  It  had  the  effect  on  the 
public  of  humanising  royalty.  Nor  was  the  effect 
on  Prince  Christian  and  his  family  less  significant. 
Royalty  cannot  live  like  the  people  without 
becoming  democratic. 

II 

The  principal  influences  to  which  the  Princess 
Alexandra  was  subjected  in  this  probationary 
period  of  her  parents'  lives,   during  which  her 


88  EARLY    INFLUENCES 

childhood  and  girlhood  were  passed,  were  dynastic 
and  domestic.  The  former  determined  her  destiny, 
the  latter  her  character. 

The  dynastic  influences  began  with  the  interest 
which  Christian  VIII  took  in  her  father's  career. 
Though  he  died  when  she  was  only  four  years  old, 
an  age  at  which  she  could  retain  no  recollection 
of  him,  she  indirectly  owed  him  much.  He  was 
one  of  those  kings  who  require  only  a  great  stage 
on  which  to  act  their  role  to  compel  posterity 
to  remember  them.  For  he  possessed  in  an 
eminent  degree  those  picturesque  attributes  which, 
when  attached  to  great  ability,  embalm  a  reputa- 
tion and  preserve  it  from  decay.  But  unfortu- 
nately for  his  fame,  though  gifted  with  mental 
qualities  of  a  high  order  and  a  generous  character, 
rendered  conspicuous  by  a  romantic  career  and  a 
seductive  personal  appearance,  he  was  destined 
to  waste  his  talents  in  the  obscurity  of  an  insigni- 
ficant theatre. 

His  temperament  was  a  curious  blend  of  the 
artistic  and  the  practical.  As  a  boy  he  had  re- 
ceived a  careful  education,  and  a  wide  experience 
of  human  nature  acquired  subsequently  enabled 
him  to  discriminate  between  vulgar  political 
motives  and  sincere  national  aspirations.  Art 
and  science  appealed  to  him  equally  and  strongly. 
He  was  at  once  an  amateur  and  a  critic.  Whether 
it  was  a  question  of  a  work  of  art,  a  scientific 
investigation,  or  a  political  problem,  his  opinion 
was  equally  valuable.  At  a  Council  of  State  his 
was  the  voice  that  carried  the  most  weight. 

In  his  youth,  before  his  accession,  he  had  been 
the  royal  representative  in  Norway.    This  king- 


CHRISTIAN  VIII  m 

dom,  whose  union  with  Denmark  originated  in  the 
right  of  the  House  of  Oldenburg  to  the  throne  of 
each,  had  long  desired  a  separate  and  independent 
existence.  The  relations  between  the  Danes  and 
the  Norwegians,  in  spite,  or  perhaps  on  account 
of,  this  long  association  were  strained  to  the  snap- 
ping point.  When  Christian  arrived  in  Norway 
he  had  immense  difficulties  to  contend  with,  yet 
he  persuaded  the  Norwegians  not  to  secede.  How 
much  this  decision,  which  events  prevented  them 
from  maintaining,  was  due  to  his  tact  and  personal 
popularity  may  be  judged  from  the  fact  that  when 
the  Swedes,  who  had  long  coveted  Norway,  sought 
to  annex  it,  the  Norwegians  proclaimed  their 
independence  and  elected  Christian  as  their  king. 

The  Congress  of  Vienna,  however,  refused  to 
sanction  these  proceedings,  and,  to  punish  Denmark 
for  having  allied  herself  to  Napoleon,  assigned 
Norway  to  Sweden,  whose  king,  though  he  owed 
his  throne  to  Napoleon,  had  betrayed  him. 
From  which  one  may  judge  the  quality  of  the 
milk  of  human  kindness  that  human  justice  is 
supposed  to  contain.  '' '  Mais  out/  dit  le  petit 
caporal  au  pretre,  '  c'est  Men  vrai,  le  hon  dieu  est 
toujotirs  avec  les  grands  hataillonsf  *' 

But,  though  compelled  to  yield  to  superior 
force.  Christian  managed  to  have  a  clause  inserted 
in  the  treaty  that  obliged  the  Swedes  to  preserve 
the  constitution  and  respect  the  liberties  of  the 
Norwegians.  As  the  farewell  gesture  of  the  House 
of  Oldenburg  to  Norway,  over  which  it  had  reigned 
for  nearly  four  centuries,  it  was  sublime.  From  it 
one  may  gather  some  slight  idea  of  the  character 
and  ability  of  Christian  VIII. 


40  EARLY   INFLUENCES 

On  his  return  to  Denmark  the  people  received 
him  with  open  arms  as  ''  the  champion  of  Uberty/* 
It  was  confidently  expected  that  he  would  be 
given  a  share  in  the  government  of  the  country  ; 
but  the  king,  jealous  of  his  popularity,  sent  him 
to  a  distant  province,  where  he  was  wasted. 
Unable  to  endure  the  tedium  of  such  an  existence, 
he  resigned,  and  for  several  years  travelled 
extensively  over  Europe.  Wherever  he  went  he 
was  treated  with  the  greatest  distinction.  The 
Danes  regarded  the  honours  heaped  upon  him  as 
so  many  tributes  to  the  democratic  principles  he 
was  supposed  to  cherish  and  intended  to  put  into 
practice  when,  in  the  fulness  of  time,  he  should 
succeed  to  the  throne. 

The  hopes  based  on  his  accession,  however, 
proved  too  extravagant  to  be  realised  all  at  once. 
The  Liberals  expected  him  immediately  to  give 
them  a  constitution,  which,  out  of  respect  for  the 
prejudices  of  the  old  king,  who  was  greatly 
esteemed  for  his  services  to  the  country  in  the 
Napoleonic  war,  they  had  chivalrously  refrained 
from  demanding  during  his  life.  But  Christian 
did  not,  or  could  not,  do  what  they  desired. 
Perhaps  he  was  not  prepared  to  divest  himself  of 
absolute  power  entirely  ;  or,  perhaps,  aware  that 
he  was  the  most  enlightened  man  in  the  kingdom, 
he  did  not  believe  the  time  was  ripe  for  such 
a  change.  If  the  latter  was  his  reason  he  was 
undoubtedly  in  the  right.  For  no  constitution 
that  the  wit  of  man  could  have  devised  would 
have  proved  acceptable  to  both  Denmark  and 
Schleswig-Holstein,  which  desired  independence, 
as  Norway  previously  had  done. 


AN   OMINOUS   SITUATION  41 

These  Duchies  were  originally  fiefs — Schleswig 
of  Denmark  and  Holstein  of  the  Holy  Roman 
Empire — the  sovereignty  of  both  having  become 
vested  in  the  course  of  time  in  the  House  of 
Oldenburg.  The  King  of  Denmark,  as  Duke  of 
Schleswig,  was  consequently  his  own  vassal, 
while  as  Duke  of  Holstein  he  was  a  member  of  the 
German  Confederation.  In  1658,  by  certain  well- 
defined  treaties,  the  feudal  nexus  of  Schleswig 
with  Denmark  was  dissolved,  while  that  of  Hol- 
stein with  Germany  was  severed  in  1806  by  the 
dissolution  of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire.  Both 
Duchies  thus  became  free  sovereign  states,  only 
united  to  Denmark  by  the  House  of  Oldenburg. 
The  attempt  of  Denmark  to  ignore  these  fine 
distinctions  and  regard  the  Duchies  as  an  in- 
tegral part  of  the  kingdom  had  resulted  in  the 
formation  of  a  party  whose  object  was  complete 
separation. 

The  situation  was  still  further  complicated  by  a 
dynastic  problem.  With  Christian  VIII  and  his 
son  the  Oldenburg  dynasty,  which  had  reigned  in 
Denmark  for  four  hundred  years,  would  expire. 
Such  an  event  is  always  ominous.  The  passions 
and  jealousies  set  loose  at  such  a  time  are  not  only 
national  but  international.  Cupidity  runs  amuck, 
and  countries  that  have  no  real  interest  at  stake 
are  sucked  into  the  whirlpool  of  war,  riot,  and 
revolution.  In  the  present  instance,  as  the  ques- 
tion of  the  succession  was  unsettled,  the  passing 
of  the  House  of  Oldenburg  was  an  event  of 
European  importance,  and  its  sudden  extinction 
— an  ever-present  possibility — might  easily  lead 
to  complications  that  would  deprive  Denmark 


42  EARLY   INFLUENCES 

not  only  of  Schleswig-Holstein  but  also  of  her 
own  independence. 

In  the  pass  to  which  affairs  were  rapidly  drifting 
in  the  country  the  succession  was,  therefore, 
unquestionably  more  important  than  the  grant 
of  a  constitution.  This  Christian  VIII  fully 
realised,  but  the  solution  of  the  dynastic  problem, 
to  which  the  disgruntled  Danes  and  the  Separa- 
tist party  in  Schleswig-Holstein  were  equally 
indifferent,  baffled  his  ingenuity. 

It  would,  in  any  case,  have  been  a  difficult  one. 
The  monarchy  in  Denmark  was  originally  elective. 
In  the  course  of  time,  as  generally  happens,  it  had 
become  hereditary.  Christians  and  Fredericks, 
as  each  king  was  alternately  called  in  Denmark, 
had  succeeded  one  another  without  dispute  in  the 
male  line  for  centuries.  By  an  old  family  law  of 
the  royal  house,  females  were  entitled  to  succeed 
in  default  of  males.  As  this  contingency  had 
never  arisen,  there  was  a  doubt  as  to  the  validity 
of  this  law,  which  the  Danish  Parliament  was  the 
only  authority  capable  of  deciding.  If  valid,  the 
throne  would  pass  to  the  Landgravine  of  Hesse- 
Cassel  and  her  heirs,  who,  as  Germans,  did  not 
appeal  to  Danish  sentiment. 

Still  less  did  the  chief  male  claimant,  the  Duke  of 
Augustenburg,  who  was  descended  in  a  direct  male 
line  from  the  younger  son  of  a  former  king,  and  twice 
in  the  female  line  as  well  from  the  royal  house. 
His  claim  was  a  powerful  one,  and,  under  ordinary 
circumstances,  might  have  offered  a  reasonable 
settlement,  not  only  of  the  succession,  but  of 
the  differences  between  Denmark  and  Schleswig- 
Holstein,    where   the   Augustenburgs   were   very 


CHRISTIAN    VIII    AND    QU^EN    CAROIylNii;    AMAI«IE. 
iFrom  M iniatures  by  Johannes  Moller  and  M.  M.  F.  Jaser'} 


THE   DYNASTIC  PROBLEM  48 

popular.  But,  as  a  leader  of  the  Separatist  party 
in  the  Duchies,  he  was  anathema  in  Denmark. 
Accordingly  he  refrained  from  pressing  his  claim, 
but  insisted  on  his  right  to  succeed  in  Schleswig- 
Holstein.  As  this  was  equivalent  to  proclaiming 
the  complete  separation  of  the  Duchies  on  the 
extinction  of  the  Oldenburg  dynasty,  his  attitude 
greatly  exasperated  the  Danes. 

To  Christian  VIII,  however,  who,  after  his 
Norwegian  experiences,  regarded  the  separation  of 
Schleswig-Holstein  philosophically,  the  elimination 
of  the  Duke  of  Augustenburg  seemed  to  simplify 
matters.  The  next  thing  to  do  was  to  eliminate 
the  German  element.  Accordingly,  having  per- 
suaded the  Landgravine,  her  son,  and  her  elder 
daughter,  to  transfer  their  claims  to  Princess 
Christian,  who  in  turn  transferred  hers  to  her 
husband,  he  proposed  to  the  Danish  Parliament 
that  Prince  Christian  of  Glucksburg  should  be 
recognised  as  the  heir  to  the  House  of  Oldenburg. 
Coming  from  a  king  who  was  no  longer  popular, 
the  proposal  was  coldly  received. 

Its  sole  result  was  to  establish  a  claim  for 
Prince  Christian  to  the  succession. 


Ill 

The  question  was  still  unsettled  when  Christian 
VIII  died  two  years  later. 

The  Royal  Family  was  now  reduced  to  his 
widow, ^  Queen  Caroline  Amalie,  and  his  successor, 

*  She  was  a  sister  of  the  Duke  of  Augustenburg,  but,  unlike  him, 
wholly  Danish  in  her  sympathies.  Highly  cultured  and  philan- 
thropic, she  encouraged  art  and  letters,  and  did  much  to  improve 


44  EARLY   INFLUENCES 

Frederick  VII,  his  only  son  by  a  former  wife,  whom 
he  had  divorced  for  infideHty. 

To  the  protection  of  the  new  king,  who  had  been 
estranged  from  his  father.  Prince  Christian  had  no 
claim  whatever.  They  had  nothing  in  common, 
yet  Frederick  VII,  partly  from  political  motives, 
partly  from  kindness  of  heart,  being  a  good-natured, 
easy-going  man,  continued  to  befriend  him. 

Frederick  was  the  antithesis  of  his  father. 
Christian,  with  his  love  of  art  and  science,  was 
very  much  the  grand  seigneur.  Cultivated  and 
humane,  he  was  always  conscious  of  his  rank. 
In  the  eighteenth  century,  to  which  he  belonged 
by  temperament,  he  would  have  been  a  bene- 
volent despot — the  best  type  of  a  pre-revolutionary 
king.  His  faith  in  democracy  was  that  of  a  cul- 
tured dilettante.  Liberty,  to  him,  was  nothing 
more  than  a  political  stratagem.  This  was  why, 
perhaps,  with  all  his  capacity,  he  failed,  while  his 
son,  who  was  neither  brilliant  nor  dignified,  and 
also  belonged  to  another  age,  but  who  had  the 
gift  of  identifying  himself  with  his  times,  succeeded. 

From  his  mother,  the  fnere  shadow  of  a  name, 
who  after  her  divorce  lived  a  roving,  ques- 
tionable life  of  pleasure  in  Italy,  Frederick 
inherited  a  Bohemian  temperament.  As  a  child 
he  had  been  left  entirely  to  the  care  of  servants. 
His  early  life  was  scandalous,  and  even  to  the  end 

the  condition  of  the  poor.  The  first  orphan  asylum  in  Denmark 
was  founded  and  supported  by  her.  As  a  token  of  the  esteem 
in  which  she  was  held,  a  statue  was  erected  in  her  memory  after 
her  death  by  voluntary  contribution.  The  work  by  Bissen  stands 
in  the  Rosenburg  Garden  in  Copenhagen — a  quaint  marble  figure 
of  a  very  benevolent  old  lady  in  an  Early  Victorian  cap  and  dress. 
She  was  on  the  best  of  terms  with  Prince  Christian's  family. 


A  ROYAL  BOHEMIAN  46 

he  paid  not  the  slightest  heed  to  appearances. 
His  chief  companions  were  young  men  far  beneath 
him  in  rank,  with  whom  he  associated  on  a  footing 
of  perfect  equaUty. 

To  wean  him  from  such  undesirable  company, 
a  marriage  was  arranged  for  him  with  one  of  his 
cousins.  It  was  very  unhappy.  After  six  years 
of  neglect  his  wife  divorced  him.  As  a  punishment 
he  was  exiled  to  Iceland,  where  it  was  said  no 
Oldenburg  had  ever  been  before,  and,  when  per- 
mitted to  return,  sent  to  a  garrison  in  Jutland. 
To  escape  from  this  durance  he  married  again. 
This  marriage  likewise  proved  a  failure.  His 
second  wife,  like  the  first,  divorced  him.  This 
sealed  the  doom  of  the  dynasty.  There  were  no 
children  by  either  marriage. 

But,  with  all  his  vices,  Frederick  was  generous, 
big-hearted,  and  sincere.  Incapable  of  deception 
and  meanness,  he  was  outspoken  in  his  contempt 
of  sycophancy,  and  quick  to  forgive  a  wrong. 
Cruelty  had  no  place  in  his  nature.  A  hatred  of 
restraint  had  imbued  him  with  a  spirit  of  tolerance. 
He  was  sympathetic  to  all  who  suffered  from  any 
sort  of  oppression. 

To  enable  him  to  turn  these  fine  qualities  to 
account,  which  he  had  not  the  will  to  accomplish 
unaided,  he  required  the  influence  of  some  strong, 
vivid  personality  with  whom  he  was  in  perfect 
sympathy.  And  this,  by  some  lucky  chance,  he 
found,  when  in  the  course  of  his  profligate  pursuit 
of  pleasure  he  met  Louise  Rasmussen. 

Though  of  humble  origin,  her  parents  had  been 
able  to  give  her  an  education  of  which  she  had 
taken  full  advantage.     When  first  heard  of  she 


46  EARLY   INFLUENCES 

was  employed  as  a  governess  in  a  Norwegian 
family,  a  position  she  gave  up  to  go  to  Paris, 
though  for  what  reason  or  in  what  capacity  is 
unknown.  Perhaps  it  was  there  she  became  a 
marchande  des  modes,  which  is  one  of  the  roles  she 
is  said  to  have  filled  in  her  chequered  career. 
When  she  reappeared  in  Denmark  it  was  as  a 
dancer  in  the  royal  ballet  in  Copenhagen.  Young, 
beautiful,  and  clever,  she  had  many  adorers,  the 
chief  of  whom  was  Berling,  a  dissolute  young  man 
of  good  family,  whose  father  owned  the  Berlingske 
Tidende,  the  principal  newspaper  in  Denmark. 

It  was  through  Berling,  who  was  Frederick's 
intimate  friend  and  later  his  private  secretary, 
that  the  future  king  first  met  her.  The  acquaint- 
ance ripened  rapidly  into  a  deep  attachment, 
which  endured  till  Frederick's  death.  On  his 
accession  he  created  her  Countess  Danner,  and 
publicly  married  her,  to  the  indignation  of  the 
Court.  He  would  have  recognised  her  as  Queen, 
in  spite  of  the  protests  of  his  ministers,  but  for  her 
good  sense  in  declining  the  honour.  She  appeared 
at  the  King's  side,  however,  in  public,  though  on 
these  occasions  she  was  invariably  the  only  woman 
present,  and  maintained  her  questionable  position 
with  dignity. 

To  render  herself  popular  she  gave  huge  sums 
to  public  charities,  but  in  this  she  was  not  actuated 
by  purely  selfish  motives.  That  she  really  sym- 
pathised with  distress  is  proved  by  the  Frederick 
VII  Institute,  which  she  founded  as  a  mark  of 
gratitude  to  the  King.  Its  object  was  to  afford 
unfortunate  girls  of  the  working  class  the  means 
and  instruction  to  enable  them  to  lead  honest  and 


COUNTESS  BANNER  47 

self-respecting  lives.  In  the  organisation  and 
maintenance  of  this  institution  she  took  a  deep 
personal  interest,  and  on  her  death  bequeathed  it 
her  entire  fortune,  estimated  at  6,000,000  kroner. 

But,  try  as  she  would,  she  never  succeeded  in 
turning  public  opinion  in  her  favour.  Society, 
though  obliged  to  treat  her  with  due  respect  by 
the  King,  would  never  consent  to  receive  her,  and 
the  envy  of  the  people,  aroused  by  such  an  eleva- 
tion from  their  ranks,  subjected  her  to  many  bitter 
humiliations.  She  was  frequently  lampooned, 
and  on  one  occasion  publicly  hissed  when  accom- 
panying the  King  on  a  tour  of  inspection  through 
the  country.  After  Frederick's  death  she  left 
Denmark,  and  lived  principally  in  Italy,  where 
she  died  some  years  later. 

Like  most  royal  favourites,  the  Countess  Banner 
took  an  active  interest  in  politics.  Her  opinions 
were  fortunately  in  accord  with  the  democratic 
spirit  of  the  times,  and,  being  gifted  with  shrewd 
common  sense,  her  powerful  influence  was  employed 
judiciously.  It  is  said  that  ministers,  far  from 
objecting  to  her  presence  at  Cabinet  meetings, 
desired  that  she  should  attend  them. 

Governed  by  her,  Frederick  settled  down  seri- 
ously to  the  business  of  kingship.  The  year  1848, 
in  which  he  succeeded  to  the  throne,  was  a  ter- 
rible test-time  for  royalty.  Like  a  sieve,  all  that 
had  survived  the  French  Revolution  was  sifted 
through  it.  Everywhere  thrones  were  overthrown 
or  shaken  to  their  foundations.  At  such  times 
the  value  of  morality  and  dignity  in  public  life  is 
at  a  discount.  Frederick's  irregular  past,  which 
had  so  outraged  the  conventions,  proved  now  of 


48  EARLY   INFLUENCES 

advantage  to  him.  The  dancers  and  demireps, 
the  students  and  journaHsts,  the  poHtical  free- 
lances and  outcasts,  the  whole  motley  crew  with 
whom  he  consorted,  had  helped  him  to  understand 
and  sympathise  with  the  people.  Liberty  is  the 
motto  of  Bohemia.  There  is  a  challenge  in  it 
which  every  Bohemian  accepts.  Being  one  him- 
self, he  was  better  prepared  for  the  storm  than  any 
other  king  in  Europe. 

His  first  act,  on  his  accession,  was  to  grant 
Denmark  the  constitution  it  had  failed  to  obtain 
from  his  father.  It  was  very  democratic.  He 
had  not  the  slightest  compunction  in  divesting 
the  monarchy  of  absolute  power.  He  had  no 
need  of  it  himself ;  besides,  he  was  the  last  of  the 
Oldenburgs,  so  what  did  it  matter  ?  ''  The  love 
of  my  people,"  he  said,  *'  is  my  strength." 

Their  gratitude  was  deep  and  enduring.  He 
kept  their  love  to  the  end,  in  spite  of  his  vices. 
This  was  partly  due  to  the  spirit  of  concihation 
he  uniformly  displayed,  and  partly  to  his  demo- 
cratic mode  of  life,  which,  by  its  absence  of  Court 
ceremonial,  which  he  detested,  appealed  to  the 
popular  imagination  of  the  time.  He  lived  chiefly 
in  the  country,  like  any  ordinary  citizen,  with  the 
Countess  Banner  and  a  few  intimate  companions, 
passing  his  time,  when  not  occupied  with  state 
affairs,  hunting,  fishing,  or  in  the  study  of  archaeo- 
logy, which  was  his  pet  hobby. 

To  the  upper  classes  in  Denmark,  whom  he 
regarded  with  bland  indifference,  he  was  an 
enigma  of  which  they  never  found  the  key.  Per- 
haps at  bottom  he  was  equally  indifferent  to  the 
good  opinion  of  the  people.     He  never  cared  for 


:  r., '  v»  > 


FREIDERICK    VII. 
{After  Geriner.) 


AN  ACT   OF  FOLLY  40 

royalty,  he  was  the  last  of  his  line,  and  he  had 
no  axe  to  grind.  All  he  asked  of  life  was  the 
liberty  to  live  as  he  pleased,  and  he  was  ever 
ready  to  grant  the  same  liberty  to  his  subjects. 

His  death  was  regarded  as  a  national  loss.  He 
was  buried  in  the  Cathedral  of  Roskilde,  the 
Valhalla  of  the  Danish  kings,  with  all  the  pomp 
and  circumstance  he  had  always  disliked  in  life, 
and  Bissen,  the  most  famous  sculptor  of  the  day, 
was  charged  to  cast  his  equestrian  statue  in  bronze, 
which,  d  la  Louis  Quatorze,  magnificently  adorns 
the  approach  to  the  Christianborg  Palace  in 
Copenhagen. 


To  grant  a  constitution  to  a  people  who  are  in 
no  mood  to  be  refused  is  no  doubt  an  admirable 
way  to  begin  a  reign.  On  Frederick's  part,  with 
the  great  storm  of  1848  brewing  on  the  political 
horizon,  it  was  an  act  of  expediency  rather  than 
of  statesmanship.  On  the  part  of  the  Danes,  who, 
in  demanding  it,  totally  disregarded  the  question 
of  the  succession,  without  first  settling  which  no 
constitution  could  possibly  work,  it  was  an  act 
of  folly. 

With  the  triumph  of  democracy  the  people  have 
become  the  sole  source  of  their  political  misfor- 
tunes, and  no  longer  have  the  right  to  blame 
any  but  themselves. 

The  constitution  was  meant  as  a  challenge  to 

Schleswig-Holstein,  and  the  Schleswig-Holsteiners 

at  once  took  it  up.     With  the  aid  of  Prussia,  they 

expelled  the  Danish  garrisons  and  declared  their 

4 


50  EARLY   INFLUENCES 

independence.  The  Duke  of  August enburg  was 
proclaimed  Sovereign  Duke  of  Schleswig-Holstein. 

The  struggle  that  ensued  was  known  as  the 
First  Schleswig  War.  It  lasted  three  years,  and 
ended  victoriously  for  the  Danes.  The  Duchies 
remained  united  to  Denmark,  and  the  Duke  for- 
mally renounced  all  his  claims,  receiving  as  com- 
pensation a  large  sum  of  money.  At  the  same 
time  the  Powers,  including  Prussia,  bound  them- 
selves by  the  Treaty  of  London  (1852)  to  maintain 
the  integrity  of  Denmark  and  to  settle  the  suc- 
cession. 

Lord  Palmerston  said  of  this  treaty  that  ''  only 
three  understood  it — God,  himself,  and  a  German 
professor  who  died  mad  after  understanding  it.'' 
It  was,  however,  not  beyond  the  comprehension 
of  Bismarck,  as  subsequent  events  proved. 

On  the  advice  of  Frederick  VII,  the  settlement 
the  Powers  made  was  the  one  his  father  had  pro- 
posed six  years  before.  The  Danish  Parliament 
accepted  it  now  without  demur,  and  by  a  protocol 
signed  in  London  in  1852  Prince  Christian  of 
Glucksburg  was  recognised  as  Heir-presumptive 
to  the  Danish  throne.  To  enable  him  to  maintain 
his  position  with  dignity  he  was  given  the  Castle 
of  Bernstorff  and  a  suitable  income. 

This  event,  which  occurred  when  the  Princess 
Alexandra  was  eight  years  old,  was  the  corner- 
stone of  her  future  career. 

IV 

Notwithstanding  their  good  fortune.  Prince 
and  Princess  Christian  continued  to  live  pretty 
much  as  before.    Their  mode  of  life,  based  on  two 


THE   PRINCESS'S   CHILDHOOD  51 

popular  ideas — the  family  and  the  home — is  a 
striking  example  of  the  transformation  that  had 
taken  place  in  royalty  since  the  French  Revolution. 
Under  the  influence  of  democracy  the  words 
*'  Royal  Family "  have  acquired  a  domestic 
significance.  King?  are  no  longer  objects  of  awe, 
but  of  human  interest.  It  is  the  Home  now,  not 
the  Court,  that  matters.  It  is  there,  in  these 
modern  days,  that  the  character  of  royalty  is 
formed. 

The  Gule  Palais  in  which  the  Princess  Alex- 
andra's earliest  years  were  spent  was  merely  an 
ordinary  mansion.  It  was  called  Gule,  or  Yellow, 
because  of  its  colour,  and  dignified  with  the  name 
of  "  palace ''  because  it  belonged  to  the  Crown  and 
some  member  of  the  Royal  Family  always  resided 
in  it.  The  Amaliegade,  in  which  it  was  situated, 
was  near  the  harbour,  along  the  shore  of  which 
was  the  Langelinie,  the  fashionable  promenade  of 
Copenhagen.  The  Princess's  chief  delight,  as  a 
little  child,  was  to  be  taken  there  by  her  father  to 
watch  the  ships.  Another  great  pleasure,  which 
she  had  in  common  with  all  Danish  children,  was 
produced  by  the  fairy-tales  of  Hans  Christian 
Andersen.  One  of  her  earliest  recollections  was 
being  taken  by  her  parents  to  witness  the  cele- 
brations in  honour  of  the  constitution  granted  by 
Frederick  VII. 

After  her  father  was  recognised  as  Heir  to  the 
Throne,  the  family  lived  principally  at  Bernstorff . 
The  castle  had  once  belonged  to  the  famous 
Struensee,  the  lover  of  Queen  Caroline  Matilda, 
George  II Fs  ill-fated  sister.  Many  memories  of 
him  still  lingered  about  the  place.     It  was  situated 


52  EARLY   INFLUENCES 

in  the  midst  of  a  fine  park,  not  far  from  Copenhagen. 
In  spring  and  summer  the  surrounding  country 
was  exceedingly  beautiful  and  romantic. 

It  was  an  ideal  place  in  which  to  bring  up 
children,  and  the  whole  family  became  deeply 
attached  to  it.  When  Prince  and  Princess  Chris- 
tian first  went  to  live  at  Bernstorff  they  had  four 
children — Prince  Frederick,  aged  nine.  Princess 
Alexandra,  aged  eight.  Prince  William,  seven,  and 
Princess  Dagmar,  five.  Princess  Thyra  was  born 
the  following  year,  and  Prince  Waldemar  six  years 
later.  Like  all  the  Glucksburgs,  they  grew  up  tall 
and  distinguished-looking. 

At  Bernstorff,  as  at  the  Gule  Palais,  Princess 
Christian  supervised  the  establishment  personally. 
Thanks  to  the  perfect  understanding  that  existed 
between  her  and  her  husband,  she  had  a  free  hand 
in  its  management.  The  responsibilities  of  each 
were  clearly  defined.  At  first  Princess  Christian 
taught  her  young  children  herself.  Later,  when 
they  left  the  nursery.  Prince  Christian  took  charge 
of  the  boys,  while  the  girls  remained  under  the 
care  of  their  mother. 

Princess  Christian  expected  much  of  her  daugh- 
ters. She  taught  them  to  make  their  own  clothes, 
and  instructed  them  as  well  in  the  art  of  house- 
keeping. Masters  and  governors  were  provided 
for  the  more  refined  accomplishments.  Much 
attention  was  paid  in  those  days  to  the  study 
of  deportment.  From  it  the  Princess  Alexandra 
acquired  the  extreme  grace  of  her  carriage.  Her 
dancing  and  riding  instructors  were  loud  in  their 
praise.  For  music  she  had  a  special  talent,  and 
her  progress  was  so  rapid  that  she  soon  rivalled 


AN  ARDUOUS  TASK  58 

her  mother,  who  was  a  fine  musician.  She  was 
deft,  too,  with  her  needle.  A  strip  of  ribbon  in 
her  fingers  was  like  a  wand  in  a  magician's  hand. 
For  such  studies  as  were  elegant  or  amusing  she 
had  a  natural  aptitude,  but  in  those  that  required 
serious  application  her  progress  was  slow. 

Punctuality  was  the  rule  of  the  establishment, 
and  to  conform  to  it  was  the  most  arduous  of  all 
the  Princess's  tasks.  For  unpunctuality  at  meals 
Prince  Christian  would  make  no  allowances. 
It  was  with  the  greatest  difficulty  imaginable  that 
she  could  arrive  in  time  for  the  blessing,  and  often, 
by  stopping  on  the  sound  of  the  gong  to  give  one 
last  fleeting  glimpse  at  her  mirror,  she  would  be 
compelled  to  eat  her  meal  in  solitude. 

She  could  never  overcome  this  failing,  and  even 
on  ceremonial  occasions,  when  punctuality  is 
essential,  her  attendants  were  obliged  to  resort 
to  many  a  subterfuge  to  enable  her  to  be  ready 
in  time. 

In  other  respects  her  parents  were  always 
indulgent.  She  tried  so  hard  to  please  them  that  it 
was  impossible  to  scold  her.  Even  as  a  child  she 
possessed  some  strange  quality  which  kindled 
affection.  Alix,  as  she  was  called,  was  the  favour- 
ite with  all  the  family.  Whenever  some  favour 
was  desired,  to  the  granting  of  which  any  difficulty 
attached,  it  was  she  who  was  delegated  to  make 
the  appeal. 

In  Princess  Christian's  system  of  education 
hygiene  occupied  an  important  place,  and  much 
time  was  devoted  to  recreation  in  the  open  air. 
At  Bernstorff  the  young  princesses  went  for  long 
walks  or  rides  with  their  father  and  brothers. 


54  EARLY    INFLUENCES 

The  whole  country  for  miles  around,  with  its 
romantic  forests  and  castles,  was  familiar  to  them. 
When  in  Copenhagen  they  were  constantly  to  be 
seen  on  the  Langelinie,  or  strolling  in  theOstergade, 
where  the  shop-windows  afforded  them  infinite 
pleasure.  In  summer  the  whole  family,  packed 
into  one  large,  old-fashioned  coach,  drove  to 
Klampenborg  to  bathe  in  the  sea. 

Their  evenings  were  generally  devoted  to  music. 
This  taste  was  a  great  resource,  as  it  enabled  the 
princesses  to  see  something  of  the  world  beyond 
the  family  circle.  In  Copenhagen,  during  the 
season,  they  w^ent  frequently  to  the  Opera  and  to 
musical  entertainments  in  private  houses,  when 
the  programme  often  included  a  morceau  for  eight 
hands,  executed  by  the  ''  family  Christian.'* 

It  was  a  placid,  regular,  monotonous  existence, 
but  healthy  and  happy.  How  happy  those  annual 
reunions  in  the  years  to  come  proved  when  the 
brothers  and  sisters,  whom  splendid  destinies 
had  separated,  returned  to  Bernstorff  to  revisit 
together  the  scenes  of  their  childhood ! 

The  Princess  never  forgot  her  childhood's  home. 
It  was  endeared  to  her  by  a  thousand  childish 
associations.  With  every  tree  in  the  park,  every 
nook  and  cranny  of  the  old  castle,  she  was  familiar. 
In  the  lofty  position  to  which  destiny  had  raised 
her  she  liked  to  recall  the  days  when  she  sat 
unknown  and  obscure  upon  the  chintz  settees  at 
Bernstorff,  looking  out  over  the  level  fields  of 
Zeeland  towards  the  Baltic,  which  could  be  seen 
gleaming  in  the  distance  between  the  waving  boughs 
of  the  old  beeches,  speculating  pensively  on  what 
the  future  had  in  store  for  her,  and  envying  girls 


J  )      1 


Tiriv   err,]';   r.\i,Ais    axd    im'.kx^tor 


THE  LURE   OF  THE   PAST  55 

who  were  not  doubly  restricted  as  she  was  by 
high  birth  and  slender  means. 

Neither  she  nor  any  of  her  family  had  the 
faintest  trace  of  the  feeling  which  causes  a  vulgar 
parvenu  to  hide  the  relics  of  his  humble  past. 
Many  stories  are  told  of  her  parents,  which  prove 
how  unspoilt  they  were  by  the  fortune  that 
raised  them  to  the  throne  of  Denmark,  to  which 
neither  of  them  had  dreamt  of  aspiring.  From 
Bernstorff  to  Marlborough  House,  with  Windsor 
in  perspective,  is  a  change  hardly  to  be  paralleled 
in  private  life,  and  it  pleased  the  Princess,  in  after- 
days,  to  talk  of  her  past  and  to  show  people  the 
house  in  which  her  modest  girlhood  was  spent. 

The  happy  monotony  of  this  existence  was 
temporarily  broken  by  the  confirmation  of  herself 
and  her  brother  Frederick.  The  ceremony,  which 
took  place  shortly  before  the  Princess's  sixteenth 
birthday,  was  celebrated  with  great  pomp  in  the 
chapel  of  the  Palace  of  Christianborg.  Confirma- 
tion is  regarded  in  Denmark  as  the  first  important 
event  in  life.  It  marks  the  end  of  childhood  and 
the  beginning  of  responsibility. 

From  this  day  the  Princess  Alexandra  had  a 
room  to  herself,  which  she  was  permitted  to  furnish 
according  to  her  own  taste,  and  where  she  could 
enjoy  real  privacy,  which  is  only  possible  for 
royalty  in  such  a  home  as  Prince  and  Princess 
Christian's.  Heretofore,  outside  the  family  circle, 
she  was  merely  one  of  Prince  Christian's  three 
daughters,  a  pretty  child — they  were  all  that — 
nothing  more.  Now  she  suddenly  blossomed  into 
womanhood.  People  noticed  that  she  was  tall, 
slim,  and  beautiful,  and  began  to  wonder  what 


56  EARLY   INFLUENCES 

the  eldest  daughter  of  the  Heir  to  the  Throne  was 
like,  with  her  fair  hair,  dazzling  skin,  and  the 
blue  of  the  Kattegat  in  her  eyes,  and  whom  she 
would  marry. 

Soon,  very  soon,  observed  under  that  terrible, 
steady  throne-light  that  always  beats  on  royalty, 
all  Denmark  learnt  that  the  Princess  Alexandra 
possessed  a  lively  and  cheerful  disposition,  a 
gentle  and  amiable  nature,  and  an  indescribable 
charm  of  which  all  were  conscious  who  came  into 
contact  with  her.  From  the  attention  she  devoted 
to  her  personal  appearance  it  was  evident  that  she 
was  fond  of  dress  and  adornment.  To  women, 
who  understand  the  reason  of  this  feminine 
vanity,  this  was  an  additional  attraction.  By 
extolling  her  taste,  which  they  knew  to  be  correct, 
they  gave  her  personality  a  publicity  that  rendered 
its  subtle  and  unaffected  charm  more  conspicuous. 
Her  name  was  soon  a  familiar  one  in  every  home 
in  Denmark,  and,  so  prone  are  people  to  advertise 
and  applaud  whatever  enhances  the  credit  of  the 
great,  she  was  admired  by  thousands  who  had 
never  seen  her. 

But  princesses  of  the  blood,  however  popular 
and  lovable,  are  seldom  permitted  to  flourish  in 
the  soil  from  which  they  spring.  Already  the 
parterre  to  which  this  beautiful  flower  was  to  be 
transplanted  was  being  prepared  in  the  strangest 
and  most  secret  way. 


CHAPTER  III 
THE  MARRIAGE 

I.    QUEEN    VICTORIA    AT    EIGHTEEN THE    BIRTH    OF    THE    PRINCE    OF 

WALES THE    JOY    OF    THE    NATION EARLY    SPECULATION    AS    TO    HIS 

MARRIAGE THE    GREAT    IMPORTANCE    ATTACHED    TO    IT THE    LACK    OF 

ELIGIBLE   PRINCESSES THE   QUEST  FOR  A   BRIDE THE   SUGGESTION   OF 

A   MAID   OF  HONOUR QUEEN  VICTORIA'S  APPROVAL THE  PROGRESS  OF 

THE   NEGOTIATIONS THE  MEETING    IN    THE    CATHEDRAL  OF  SPEIER.      IL 

SUDDEN     DEATH     OF     THE     PRINCE     CONSORT INTERRUPTION     OF     THE 

MARRIAGE    PROJECT DIFFICULTY    OF    RESUMING    THE    NEGOTIATIONS 

THE  NECESSITY  FOR  SECRECY QUEEN  VICTORIA  VISITS   BRUSSELS THE 

PRINCESS  ALEXANDRA   AT   OSTEND HER  MEETING  WITH   THE   QUEEN 

TO  BE  OR  NOT  TO  BE  ? — THE  QUEEN  IS  "  QUITE  ENCHANTED  " A  ROYAL 

PROPOSAL STRANGE    DELAY    IN    ANNOUNCING    THE    BETROTHAL HOW 

THE  NEWS   WAS   RECEIVED   IN   DENMARK IN   ENGLAND.       III.    DENMARK 

"en  F^TE" DEPARTURE  OF  THE  PRINCESS REMARKABLE  OVATIONS  SHE 

RECEIVED    EVERYWHERE    ON    HER    JOURNEY POLITICAL    SIGNIFICANCE 

ATTACHED    TO    HER    ON    THE    CONTINENT WHAT    ENGLAND    EXPECTED. 

IV.    HOW  LONDON  AWAITED  THE  BRIDE  OF  THE  PRINCE  OF  WALES HER 

ARRIVAL  AT  GREENWICH THE  ROYAL  ENTRY  INTO  LONDON DELIRIOUS 

ENTHUSIASM   OF  THE   PEOPLE DEMOCRACY   PAYS   HOMAGE   TO   ROYALTY 

OPINIONS  OF  THE  PRESS.       V.    THE  WEDDING  IN  ST.  GEORGE'S  CHAPEL, 

WINDSOR MAGNIFICENCE    OF    THE    SPECTACLE THE    DIGNITY    OF    THE 

PRINCE    OF    WALES THE    ARRIVAL    OF    THE     BRIDE THE    ADMIRATION 

SHE      AROUSED IMPRESSION      OF      DICKENS OF      THACKERAY QUEEN 

victoria's  EMOTION THE  NATIONAL  REJOICINGS TENNYSON'S  "WEL- 
COME." 

I 

Queen  Victoria,  who  was  only  eighteen  on  her 
accession,  had  reigned  four  years  when  her  eldest 
son  was  born.  She  had  come  to  the  throne  at  a 
test-time  for  the  monarchy.  Destined  to  become 
the  greatest  moral  and  rehgious  influence  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  little  was  known  of  her  charac- 
ter or  ability.  Among  the  middle  and  lower 
classes  there  was  a  republican  tendency,  due 
partly  to  the  influence  of  the  French  Revolution, 

67 


58  THE    MARRIAGE 

partly  to  the  unpopularity  of  her  immediate  pre- 
decessors. Her  marriage  to  a  foreigner  of  whom 
nothing  was  known  was  viewed  with  suspicion, 
and,  though  the  Prince  Consort  afterwards  suc- 
ceeded by  his  worth  and  rectitude  in  making  him- 
self respected,  he  was  never  really  popular. 

In  accepting  her  as  Queen  the  nation  felt  it  was 
making  an  experiment.  Her  accession  was  re- 
garded as  a  sort  of  pis  alley.  It  had  the  advan- 
tage of  ridding  the  nation  of  George  IIFs  undesir- 
able sons  and  of  putting  an  end  to  the  unpopular 
Hanoverian  succession.  She  was,  moreover,  a 
woman,  and  it  was  thought  that  a  queen  might 
be  more  easily  controlled  than  a  king. 

In  the  struggle  between  the  old  order  and  the 
new  for  supremacy  in  the  State  she  was  like  some 
frail  bridge  over  a  yawning  chasm.  Her  youth, 
sex,  and  inexperience  appealed  to  the  imagination. 
There  was  a  pathos  in  the  solitary  little  figure 
who  was  so  evidently  anxious  to  please.  So  the 
people  chivalrously  gave  her  the  benefit  of  what- 
ever doubts  they  had,  and  consented  to  make  the 
most  of  her. 

Everything  that  concerned  her  became  of 
immense  importance  to  the  nation.  This  interest 
was  entirely  selfish.  It  was  not  inspired,  at  first 
at  least,  by  sympathy  for  the  sovereign,  but  by 
popular  anxiety.  This,  however,  silently  told  in 
her  favour.     Her  life  and  reign  did  the  rest. 

The  birth  of  her  first  child  had  been  looked 
forward  to  with  almost  feverish  excitement.  It 
happened  to  be  a  daughter.  The  disappointment 
was  great.  A  son  was  wanted  to  ensure  the 
succession,  and  give  a  sense  of  security  and  con- 


THE   HOPE   OF  THE   NATION  69 

tinuity  to  the  new  regime.  He  would  preclude 
the  possibility  of  a  King  of  Hanover  again  claiming 
to  rule  England,  a  prospect  which  the  people 
resented. 

The  birth  of  the  Prince  of  Wales  was,  therefore, 
regarded  as  an  event  of  the  greatest  importance  to 
the  nation.  Occurring  on  Lord  Mayor's  Day, 
London's  historic  holiday,  it  was  considered  as 
a  happy  omen,  and  the  news  was  received  with 
enthusiastic  joy  throughout  England.  His  birth 
restored  the  prestige  of  the  monarchy.  It  made 
him,  in  the  most  literal  sense  of  the  phrase,  the 
hope  of  the  nation.  This  title,  which  can  only  be 
conferred  by  the  people,  is  the  most  sublime  and 
dangerous  that  a  man  can  bear.  Many  have 
been  crushed  by  its  weight.  How  well  the  Prince 
of  Wales  bore  it  and  justified  it  all  the  world  knows. 
But  perhaps  it  is  as  well  that  the  nation  should 
have  its  share  of  the  credit,  for  did  it  not  assist 
him  right  loyally  from  first  to  last  to  bear  the 
burden  ? 

To  few  mortals  has  Fortune  ever  showed  herself 
more  benignant.  Blessed  with  a  quality  that  had 
the  wonderful  property  of  removing  every  obstacle 
from  his  path,  and  making  what  in  others  would 
have  been  unpardonable  appear  excusable  in  him, 
he  lived  on  the  crest  of  the  wave  of  Good  Luck, 
passing  through  life  from  the  cradle  to  the  grave 
as  he  entered  it,  with  the  applause  of  the  world 
ringing  in  his  ears.  He  had  the  good  fortune  to  be 
born  at  the  psychological  hour  of  a  great  period 
in  history  and  to  die  before  it  passed.  All  that 
life  has  to  offer  of  its  best  was  given  to  him,  even 
its  rarest  and  most  unique  gift,  the  gift  denied 


60  THE    MARRIAGE 

Solomon  in  all  his  glory,  the  gift  of  not  knowing 
that  all  is  vanity. 

His  marriage  was  a  European  event.  His 
position  as  heir  to  the  throne  of  a  world-wide 
empire  gave  it  an  international  significance.  In 
England  it  was  regarded  as  scarcely  less  important 
than  his  birth.  Already  before  he  had  attained 
his  eighteenth  birthday  speculation  was  rife  on  the 
subject.  On  the  5th  of  July,  1858,  the  Times,  in 
an  article  headed  *'  The  Prince  of  Wales  and  his 
Destined  Bride,*'  expressed  the  following  opinion  : 

'*  To  all  present  appearances  our  future  mon- 
arch's choice  of  wife  is  positively  limited  to 
exactly  seven  ladies  of  royal  blood — unless, 
indeed,  he  selects  a  consort  much  older  than  him- 
self. This  will,  doubtless,  appear  startling  to 
some  of  our  readers,  but  is  nevertheless  true. 
The  following  list  (compiled  from  authentic 
sources  by  a  correspondent  who  has  taken  much 
pains  in  investigating  this  subject)  comprises  the 
only  ladies  of  royal  blood  who,  as  Protestants, 
are  eligible  for  the  hand  of  the  Prince  of  Wales  : 

''  (i)  Princess  Alexandrine,  daughter  of  Prince 
Albert  of  Prussia.  (2)  Princess  Anne  of  Hesse- 
Darmstadt,  niece  of  the  Duke  of  Hesse  and  the 
Empress  of  Russia.  (3)  Princess  Augusta  of 
Hoist ein-Glucksburg.  (4)  Duchess  Wilhelmina  of 
Wiirttemberg.  (5)  Princess  Alexandra  (daughter 
of  Prince  Christian)  of  Denmark.  (6)  Princess 
Mary  of  Saxe-Altenberg.  (7)  Princess  Catherine 
of  Oldenburg,  sister  of  the  Grand  Duchess  Nicholas 
of  Russia. 

''Without  venturing  upon  prophecy,  we  are 
disposed  to  think  that  No.  5  will  be  considered  the 


GERMAN   SCHEMES  61 

most  eligible  lady,  Prince  Christian  being  Heir- 
presumptive  to  the  throne  of  Denmark/' 

The  Times,  however,  was  alone  in  this  assump- 
tion. Everything  seemed  to  point  to  a  German 
alliance.  It  was  the  desire  of  both  Queen  Victoria 
and  the  Prince  Consort,  and  Germany,  moreover, 
was  practically  the  only  country  where  a  Pro- 
testant princess  was  likely  to  be  found.  In  Ger- 
many, indeed,  where  Bismarck's  secret  and  subtle 
policy  for  the  aggrandisement  of  Prussia  was  at 
this  time  engaged  in  encouraging  the  longing  for 
racial  unity,  the  wish  was  father  to  the  thought. 
The  English  Court  was  looked  on  as  a  sort  of 
German  preserve,  and  it  was  taken  for  granted 
that  the  Prince  of  Wales,  like  his  mother  and 
sister,  would  seek  his  consort  in  that  country. 

In  i860,  shortly  before  the  Prince's  visit  to 
Canada  and  America,  there  were  rumours  abroad 
that  a  matrimonial  alliance  between  the  Heir  to 
the  British  Throne  and  a  Princess  of  Prussia  was 
in  contemplation.  The  German  newspapers,  in- 
deed, solemnly  asserted  that  it  had  all  along  been 
determined — arranged,  in  fact — at  the  time  of  the 
wedding  of  the  Princess  Royal  with  the  young 
Prince  Frederick  William  of  Prussia.  It  was 
even  settled,  so  they  said,  that  there  should  be  a 
'*  double  marriage ''  between  the  Royal  Families 
of  Great  Britain  and  HohenzoUern. 

In  England,  on  the  contrary,  the  idea  of  any 
German  marriage  was  distinctly  unpopular.  It 
was  generally  believed  that  the  object  of  these 
alliances,  of  which  the  Germans  had  always  been 
fond,  was  to  make  the  whole  of  European  Royalty 
one  vast  family,  the  stalk  or  root  of  which  should 


62  THE    MARRIAGE 

be  in  Germany.  From  the  sarcastic  comments  of 
the  Enghsh  press  it  was  evident  that  the  project, 
if  really  contemplated,  would  meet  with  bitter 
opposition.  The  Times,  which  in  those  days  was 
justly  regarded  in  England  as  well  as  out  of  it  as 
a  power  to  be  reckoned  with,  even  went  to  the 
length  of  warning  the  Government. 

Whether  Queen  Victoria  took  it  as  such  or  not, 
she  was  far  too  prudent  to  make  a  hasty  decision. 
The  dearth  of  eligible  princesses  rendered  the 
choice  of  a  wife  for  her  son  and  heir  a  serious 
business.  How  seriously  she  regarded  it  may  be 
judged  from  the  fact  that  she  gave  her  daughter 
a  list  of  the  most  suitable  and  requested  her  to 
report  on  them  personally. 

This  tour  of  inspection  having  proved  fruitless, 
the  Princess  Royal  confided  its  secret  to  her 
favourite  maid  of  honour,  the  Countess  Walburga 
von  Hohenthal,  who  was  engaged  to  be  married 
to  Sir  Augustus  Paget,  the  British  Minister  at 
Copenhagen. 

''  My  future  husband  being  an  Englishman  and 
a  diplomat,''  she  says  in  the  account  ^  she  has  given 
of  her  conduct  in  this  delicate  affair,  ''  I  knew  he 
would  be  discreet,  and  I  confided  to  him  the 
dilemma  of  *  no  Princess '  for  the  Prince  of 
Wales. 

*'  *  But  I  know  the  prettiest,  the  nicest,  the  most 
charming,'  he  exclaimed.  '  Princess  Alix,  the 
eldest  daughter  of  Prince  Christian,  the  future 
King  of  Denmark.  She  is  only  sixteen,  and  as 
good  as  she  is  pretty  !  ' 

^  Scenes  and  Memories,  by  Walburga,  Lady  Paget.     (Smith, 
Elder  &  Co.     London,  19 12.) 


A  DELIGHTFUL   COMMISSION  68 

"  Armed  with  this  knowledge,  I  went  at  once 
to  the  Princess  and  told  her  all  about  it. 

''  *  You  must  tell  the  Queen  at  once  as  soon  as 
you  go  to  England/  she  said,  '  and  find  out  all  you 
can  in  the  meantime/  '' 

This  commission  proved  as  easy  as  it  was 
deHghtful  to  the  maid  of  honour,  who  soon  had 
frequent  opportunities  of  seeing  the  young  Princess. 
On  arriving  in  Copenhagen  after  her  marriage, 
which  occurred  at  this  time,  she  at  once  made  it 
her  business  to  be  presented  to  Princess  Christian. 

*'  Her  Royal  Highness,  *'  she  says,  *'  had  asked 
me  to  come  quite  informally,  as  she  knew  my 
husband  so  well  and  had  often  allowed  him  to 
visit  her  in  the  same  way  both  in  town  and  in  the 
country.  She  was  still  a  very  pretty  woman,  with 
fine  blue  eyes  and  a  good  figure.  Prince  Christian 
came  into  the  room  whilst  I  was  with  the  Princess, 
and  we  talked  of  his  brothers,  whom  I  remembered 
seeing  in  their  smart  Hussar  uniforms  as  dashing 
young  officers  at  my  father's  house  in  the  country, 
when  they  were  quartered  near  there,  and  also  of 
his  sisters,  whom  I  had  seen  quite  lately.  There 
was  a  delightful  charm  of  simplicity  and  kindness 
about  Prince  Christian  which  won  all  hearts, 
and  the  patriarchal  and  unostentatious  setting  of 
the  family  life  of  this  royal  couple  was  most 
attractive. 

''After  I  had  been  with  the  Princess  for  a  little 
time,  I  said  that  my  husband  had  so  often  spoken 
to  me  of  the  Princess  Alexandra  that  I  hoped  I 
might  be  allowed  to  see  her.  I  was  delighted 
when  she  came  into  the  room,  for  I  saw  in  her  all 
the  promise  of  her  future  loveliness  and  goodness. 


«4  THE    MARRIAGE 

She  was  like  a  half-open  rosebud,  and  so  simple 
and  childlike  in  everything.  Later  on  I  made  the 
acquaintance  of  the  other  children.  It  was  charm- 
ing to  see  the  still  youthful  parents  and  their  half- 
grown-up  and  growing  children,  all  so  happy  and 
united  together  in  such  natural,  healthy,  and 
simple  surroundings." 

Needless  to  say,  Lady  Paget  kept  up  a  lively 
correspondence  with  her  former  mistress  (who  at 
this  time,  by  the  death  of  Frederick  William  IV 
of  Prussia,  had  become  Crown  Princess);  and  in 
due  course  went  to  England  well  equipped  with 
valuable  information  concerning  the  young  Prin- 
cess Alexandra. 

On  her  arrival  there  she  found  the  nation  in  a 
state  of  great  anxiety.  The  ship  in  which  the 
Prince  of  Wales  was  returning  from  America  was 
ten  days  overdue.  There  had  been  frightful 
storms  in  the  Atlantic,  and  the  worst  was  feared. 
Queen  Victoria  alone  kept  up  her  spirits,  outwardly 
at  least,  and  refused  to  admit  that  there  was  any 
cause  for  alarm.  The  Prince  of  Wales's  birthday 
was  celebrated  as  usual  at  Windsor  by  a  big  dinner- 
party, to  which  the  British  Minister  to  Denmark 
and  his  young  bride  were  invited. 

Lady  Paget  sat  next  to  the  Prince  Consort,  who 
looked  pale  and  worn  with  anxiety  he  could  not 
conceal.  The  conversation  naturally  reverted  to 
the  Prince  of  Wales. 

'*  I  now  saw  my  opportunity,''  she  writes,  *'  and 
when  the  Prince  spoke  of  his  son  I  ventured  to 
beg  him  to  forgive  me  if  I  alluded  to  a  subject 
that  had  been  kept  secret,  but  that  perhaps  he 
might  remember  that   I   had   accompanied    the 


SOWING  THE  SEED  66 

Crown  Princess  the  year  before  on  a  fruitless 
expedition  to  Germany ;  but  I  now  thought  the 
Princess  so  much  searched  for  had  been  found,  and 
I  told  him  all  I  knew  about  Princess  Alix.  I  heard 
him  repeating  it  to  the  Queen,  who  was  on  his 
other  side. 

''  After  dinner  Her  Majesty  asked  me  many 
questions  about  Princess  Alix  and  to  send  her  as 
many  photographs  as  I  could  find/' 

Six  days  later  the  Prince  of  Wales  reached 
Plymouth  safely.  For  a  time  nothing  more  was 
heard  of  his  marriage,  but  the  seed  Lady  Paget 
had  sown  had  fallen  on  fertile  soil.  The  Crown 
Princess  continued  eager  for  news. 

''  I  am  specially  grateful,''  she  wrote  in  the 
spring  after  her  brother's  return  from  America, 
*'  for  your  last  letter,  which  is  so  full  of  the  business 
I  have  so  much  at  heart.  I  own  my  interest 
increases  the  more  I  hear  of  the  person  in  question, 
and  much  good  has  been  heard  of  her  in  England 
too.  What  a  pity  were  she  to  make  another 
marriage  ! 

''  In  the  first  place,  it  would  be  desirable  to  find 
out  whether  she  is  not  coming  some  time  to  Ger- 
many. I  should  be  so  enchanted  to  make  her 
acquaintance. 

''  You  have  a  certain  talent  in  making  naive 
remarks.  I  should  have  no  objection  to  your 
compromising  me  slightly,  not  as  an  official 
person,  but  as  my  friend,  and  if  you  were  to  be  a 
little  indiscreet  about  the  young  lady." 

Lady  Paget  did  as  she  was  bidden  so  success- 
fully that  an   arrangement  was  made  that  the 
Crown  Princess  and  her  husband  should  go  to 
5 


66  THE   MARRIAGE 

Strelitz  for  a  few  days  to  see  her  cousin  the  Grand 
Duchess  of  Mecklenburg,  while  the  Princess  Chris- 
tian and  her  daughters  were  also  paying  a  visit 
there.  The  greatest  secrecy  was  observed  as  to  the 
real  motive  of  this  visit,  for  all  were  aware  that  this 
marriage  project  at  a  time  when  the  Schleswig- 
Holstein  question  was  once  more  acute  might 
raise  political  objections  to  it  in  Germany. 

That  the  Crown  Princess's  impressions  would 
be  favourable  Lady  Paget  never  doubted ;  all  the 
same,  as  her  credit  was  involved  in  the  success  of 
these  negotiations,  it  was  with  the  greatest 
impatience  she  waited  for  news.  In  due  course 
the  Crown  Princess  wrote  : 

'*  I  have  returned  from  Strelitz  quite  enchanted. 
Princess  Alexandra  is  the  most  fascinating  creature 
in  the  world.  You  did  not  say  nearly  enough. 
For  a  long  time  I  have  not  seen  anybody  who 
pleases  me  so  much  as  this  lovely  and  charming 
girl.  Not  to  speak  of  a  Princess.  She  is  simply 
quite  charming.  I  have  never  seen  Fritz  so  taken 
with  anybody  as  he  was  with  her.  I  will  only  add 
that  I  found  Princess  Christian  very  amiable  and 
agreeable,  and  the  little  Dagmar  a  duck." 

Shortly  afterwards  the  Crown  Princess  went  to 
England,  and  gave  her  report  in  person  to  her 
parents.  Both  Queen  Victoria  and  the  Prince 
Consort  were  most  favourably  impressed.  Apart 
from  personal  considerations,  the  match  appealed 
to  them  in  view  of  the  political  situation.  But, 
while  anxious  for  the  Prince  of  Wales  to  marry, 
they  did  not  wish  to  force  him  into  any  union 
against  his  will.  Remembering  the  unhappy 
marriage  of  George  IV  and  the  scandal  it  had 


THE    PRINCESS    AI,EXANDRA. 


A  MOMENTOUS  EVENT  67 

caused,  such  a  repetition  was  in  every  way  to  be 
avoided. 

At  the  stage  at  which  the  negotiations  had  now 
arrived  it  was  necessary  that  the  Prince  of  Wales 
himself  should  meet  the  Princess  Alexandra.  As 
she  was  visiting  her  grandmother,  the  Land- 
gravine of  Hesse-Cassel,  at  Rumpenheim  near 
Frankfort,  and  the  Prince,  who  was  touring  the 
Rhine,  happened  to  be  in  the  neighbourhood, 
advantage  was  taken  of  the  opportunity  to 
arrange  a  meeting.  It  took  place  in  Speier  on 
September  14,  1861,  their  introduction  being 
effected  in  the  Cathedral,  where  both  chanced 
to  be  sight-seeing  at  the  same  time.  It  was  a 
momentous  event  in  the  lives  of  both.  The  next 
day  they  met  again  at  Heidelberg.  Writing  to 
the  faithful  Baron  Stockmar  on  the  subject,  the 
Prince  Consort  reported  that  ''  the  young  people 
seem  to  have  taken  a  mutual  liking  to  one 
another.'' 

II 

The  negotiations  had  reached  this  interesting 
stage  when  they  were  suddenly  interrupted  by  the 
premature  death  of  the  Prince  Consort  (December 
14,  1861).  The  blow  prostrated  Queen  Victoria. 
Life  seemed  to  have  lost  all  interest  for  her.  It 
was  not  a  time  to  talk  of  marriage.  Her  thoughts 
were  of  tombs,  not  of  altars. 

This  calamity,  however,  actually  facilitated  the 
project.  In  her  sorrow  the  Queen  vowed  to 
consecrate  the  remainder  of  her  life  to  the  memory 
of  her  husband.  He  had  been  the  first  to  favour 
the  idea  of  the  Danish  marriage,  and  was  actually 


68  THE    MARRIAGE 

engaged  in  realising  it  when  he  died.  After  she 
had  recovered  from  the  first  shock  of  her  grief, 
the  Queen  resolved  that  the  Prince  Consort's 
wishes  should  be  carried  out. 

This  was  no  easy  matter.  An  heir  to  a  throne 
is  not  married  as  one  marries  the  son  of  a  coster- 
monger  or  a  duke.  It  is  not  a  case  of  mutual 
consent,  a  marriage  licence,  and  the  publishing  of 
banns.  The  marriage  of  a  Prince  of  Wales  is  not 
a  private  but  a  national  concern.  In  the  present 
instance  there  were  foreign  susceptibilities  to  be 
considered.  The  interminable  Schleswig-Holstein 
question  was  approaching  another  of  its  violent 
crises.  Germany  was  openly  sympathising  with 
the  separatist  movement  in  the  Duchies.  The 
marriage  of  the  Prince  of  Wales  to  the  daughter 
of  the  future  King  of  Denmark  was,  therefore,  well 
calculated  to  give  rise  to  a  serious  international 
misunderstanding.  To  avoid  arousing  suspicion, 
the  greatest  secrecy  was  essential. 

Apart  from  those  immediately  concerned,  the 
Queen's  intentions  were  known  only  to  her  uncle, 
King  Leopold,  whom  she  always  consulted,  the 
Crown  Princess  and  her  husband,  and  the  Pagets. 
In  the  spring  after  the  Prince  Consort's  death,  and, 
in  obedience  to  a  wish  he  had  expressed,  she  sent 
her  son  to  travel  in  Egypt  and  the  Holy  Land. 
During  his  absence,  which  helped  to  avert  atten- 
tion from  her  schemes,  the  negotiations  were 
resumed. 

Immediately  after  the  Prince  of  Wales  had 
returned  from  this  tour.  Lady  Paget,  whom  the 
Crown  Princess  had  summoned  to  Berlin,  wrote 
as  follows  to  her  husband  in  Copenhagen  : 


POLITICAL   OBSTACLES  69 

'*  The  first  thing  almost  she  said  was  that  I  was 
to  tell  you  that  you  must  come  to  Berlin  on  your 
way  to  England  and  stay  a  day,  as  she  was  most 
anxious  to  speak  to  you  about  several  things.  .  .  . 
It's  about  Princess  A/s  marriage.  She  wants  you 
to  remove  the  political  scruples  and  difficulties, 
for  the  Crown  Prince  thinks  it  might  lead  to 
trouble  in  Germany.'* 

From  the  conduct  of  the  Crown  Princess  in  this 
affair,  of  which  there  are  many  similar  instances 
in  her  life,  it  is  easy  to  understand  why  this  gifted 
woman  was  so  unpopular  in  Germany.  It  was 
her  misfortune — an  >mpardonable  one  in  royalty — 
to  be  unable  to  identify  herself  with  the  country 
of  her  adoption.  She  could  not  distinguish  be- 
tween her  sympathies  and  her  interests,  a  f aihng 
to  which  all  her  sufferings  can  be  traced. 

Queen  Victoria,  who  thoroughly  understood  the 
difference,  did  not  attempt  to  enlighten  her  in 
this  instance.  By  the  marriage  of  the  Princess 
Alice,  which  took  place  at  this  time,  to  the  Grand 
Duke  of  Hesse,  she  completely  deceived  German 
opinion  as  to  her  real  intentions.  Who  could 
suspect  that  with  two  British  princesses  married 
to  German  princes,  England  could  think  of  thwart- 
ing German  designs  in  Schleswig-Holstein  by 
marrying  the  Prince  of  Wales  to  a  Danish  princess? 

So  cleverly  had  the  Queen  manoeuvred  that  only 
one  thing  remained  to  render  the  intrigue  success- 
ful. To  Queen  Victoria  it  was  the  most  important 
thread  of  the  web  she  was  weaving.  She  had  yet 
to  see  and  approve  personally  of  the  paragon  of 
whom  she  had  heard  so  much. 

After   the  marriage   of  the   Princess  Alice  in 


70  THE    MARRIAGE 

July  1862,  it  was  arranged,  with  the  help  of  Lady 
Paget,  that  the  meeting  should  take  place  in 
September.  Prince  and  Princess  Christian  and 
their  family  would  then  be  at  Ostend,  and  the 
Queen,  who  was  going  to  Coburg  at  this  time, 
decided  to  take  advantage  of  the  occasion  to  pay 
a  short  visit  to  King  Leopold  in  Brussels,  when 
the  Princess  Alexandra  could  be  presented  to  her. 

At  the  same  time,  with  the  double  object  of 
sounding  public  opinion  in  England  and  mollifying 
it  in  Germany,  rumours  of  what  was  afoot  were 
circulated  in  the  press.  The  young  couple  were 
to  meet  in  Brussels.  Good  news  might  be  expected 
shortly  from  that  friendly  Court.  The  Prince 
admired  and  liked  the  Danish  lady  as  he  liked 
none  other.  At  first  these  rumours  were  denied, 
but  in  a  manner  to  encourage  their  continuance. 
Having  familiarised  the  public  in  this  way  with 
the  project,  the  next  thing  was  to  assure  it  that 
''  the  alliance  would  add  no  further  complication 
to  the  Schleswig-Holstein  question,  or  compel  the 
British  public  to  understand  that  mystery.'*  This 
the  Times,  in  an  article  that  was  evidently  inspired, 
endeavoured  to  do  on  the  eve  of  Queen  Victoria's 
departure  for  Brussels. 

One  can  imagine  with  what  anxiety  Princess 
Alexandra  must  have  looked  forward  to  this 
meeting.  Though  she  had  been  kept  very  much 
in  ignorance  of  what  was  going  on,  she  knew  that 
her  marriage  to  the  Prince  of  Wales,  to  which 
great  secrecy  and  many  obstacles  were  attached, 
had  long  been  in  contemplation.  Everything 
about  it  tended  to  appeal  to  the  imagination. 
It  was  not   only   the   most  brilliant    that  any 


TO   BE   OR  NOT  TO   BE  71 

princess  in  the  world  could  make,  but  the 
princely  suitor  was  eminently  attractive  in 
himself.  To  the  simple  life  of  the  impressionable 
girl  he  gave  a  romantic  glamour.  Their  brief 
secret  meeting,  the  difficulty  of  repeating  it, 
and  their  long  separation,  seemed  like  the 
incidents  in  a  fairy  story  of  which  she  was  the 
heroine.  The  very  intrigues  by  which  they  were 
surrounded  had  an  element  of  mystery.  The 
peaceful  seclusion  of  Bernstorff  had  become  a  cage 
in  which,  like  one  under  the  spell  of  enchantment, 
the  Princess  awaited  her  deliverer. 

Nor  was  Princess  Christian  less  interested.  The 
prospect  of  such  a  splendid  alliance  was  well  calcu- 
lated to  gratify  her.  That  her  daughter  should 
be  deemed  worthy  to  be  the  wife  of  so  illustrious 
a  prince  was  a  tribute  to  the  care  and  wisdom 
exercised  in  her  upbringing.  To  her  surely  the 
credit  was  due.  Furthermore,  though  she  believed 
that  this  marriage  would  ensure  not  only  a  brilliant 
but  a  happy  future  for  her  daughter,  which  she 
desired  above  all  things,  she  could  not  fail  to 
perceive  the  advantage  her  family  and  country 
must  derive  from  such  an  alliance.  Was  not 
the  London  protocol  by  which  her  husband  had 
become  heir  to  the  throne  of  Denmark  due  to 
English  influence  more  than  any  other  ?  And 
was  it  not  reasonable  to  suppose  that,  by  the 
marriage  of  her  daughter  to  the  Prince  of 
Wales  this  influence  might  be  still  further  exerted 
in  favour  of  Denmark  in  settling  the  Schleswig- 
Holstein  question  ? 

But  Princess  Christian  was  too  shrewd  to  betray 
whatever  she  may  have  thought.     It  was  not  she 


72  THE    MARRIAGE 

who  had  sought  this  union.  The  proposal  had 
come  to  her  without  any  effort  on  her  part.  Her 
poHcy  was  to  efface  herself  as  much  as  possible 
and  let  events  take  their  course.  Even  now,  when 
the  desired  goal  was  in  sight,  she  was  careful  to 
refrain  from  any  word  or  deed  that  might  be  pre- 
judicial to  her  daughter.  Remembering  all  the 
obstacles  that  had  been  surmounted  in  the  long 
and  tedious  negotiations,  all  the  hostile  and  power- 
ful political  influences  that  had  to  be  thrown  off 
the  scent  and  evaded,  might  not  something 
hitherto  unsuspected  arise  at  the  last  moment 
before  the  goal  was  reached  ?  The  nature  of 
the  Queen  was  well  known.  Unlike  her  too 
impulsive  daughter,  the  Crown  Princess,  she 
seldom  allowed  her  sympathies  to  get  the  better 
of  her  interests.  In  marrying  her  son  it  was  not 
only  of  his  interest  that  she  was  thinking,  but  of 
England's.  An  injudicious  word,  an  unfavourable 
impression,  might  at  the  eleventh  hour  undo  all 
that  patient  toil  had  achieved.  On  the  meeting 
with  the  Queen  everything  depended.  It  was, 
therefore,  for  both  mother  and  daughter  a  question 
of  ''  to  be  or  not  to  be." 

To  allay  the  nervousness  that  the  young  Princess 
might  naturally  feel  at  such  a  moment,  her 
presentation  to  the  Queen  was  quite  informal.  It 
took  place  in  King  Leopold's  writing-room  at  the 
palace  of  Laeken.  While  waiting  for  the  Princess 
and  her  mother  to  arrive.  Queen  Victoria  sat  in  a 
small  boudoir  adjoining.  To  the  dismay  of  Lady 
Paget,  who  was  alone  with  her,  and  on  whom  the 
burden  of  the  presentation  had  been  placed,  the 
Queen  suddenly  burst  into  tears. 


AN  IMPORTANT  FACTOR  78 

'*  Oh,  you  can  understand  what  I  feel/'  she  said. 
''  You  have  a  husband  you  love,  and  you  can 
realise  what  I  have  lost !  '* 

The  emotion  of  the  Queen  at  such  a  moment  was 
very  characteristic.  It  had  been  given  to  very 
few  of  either  sex  or  of  any  degree  to  experience  the 
bliss  of  such  a  marriage  as  hers.  The  sudden 
manner  in  which  she  had  been  robbed  of  it  had 
made  its  memory  the  crowning  sorrow.  The 
thought  of  the  grave  in  which  her  happiness  was 
buried  coloured  all  she  did.  Very  truly  did  she 
write  to  King  Leopold  after  the  Prince  Consort's 
death  :  ''I  live  on  with  him,  for  him  ;  in  fact,  I 
am  only  outwardly  separated  from  him,  and  only 
for  a  time.''  By  sheer  force  of  her  powerful  will 
she  kept  her  husband's  memory  alive  long  after 
his  influence  had  begun  to  fade.  This  self-conse- 
cration was  the  key  to  the  strength  and  weakness 
of  her  character.  All  who  came  into  contact  with 
her  were  obliged  to  take  it  into  account.  Her 
ministers  soon  detected  it,  and  the  ablest  turned 
it  to  the  advantage  of  the  nation.  In  the  lives 
of  her  numerous  relations,  whose  destinies  she 
controlled,  it  was  a  most  important  factor,  and 
they  too  sought  in  turn  to  benefit  by  it. 

When  the  Princess  Alexandra's  arrival  was 
announced  the  Queen  at  once  composed  herself, 
and  went  into  the  next  room,  where  King  Leopold 
and  his  family,  as  well  as  her  own  children  who 
had  accompanied  her  to  Brussels,  were  assembled. 
After  presenting  the  Princess  and  her  mother, 
Lady  Paget  withdrew  to  the  boudoir  and  waited 
anxiously  for  the  result  of  the  Queen's  impressions. 

Half  an  hour  later  the  Queen  returned  to  the 


74  THE    MARRIAGE 

boudoir  ''  quite  enchanted  ''—not  only  with  the 
Princess,  but  with  her  mother,  whose  happy 
married  Hfe  and  simple  domestic  tastes  closely 
resembled  her  own. 

Dates  throw  a  curious  light  on  this  affair. 
Queen  Victoria  left  England  for  Brussels  on  the 
3rd  of  September  (1862).  On  the  4th,  after  the 
Princess  Alexandra  had  been  presented  to  her  and 
the  long-projected  marriage  had  received  her  final 
sanction,  she  started  immediately  for  Coburg, 
which  she  reached  on  the  5th.  The  Prince  of 
Wales  arrived  in  Brussels  on  the  8th,  and  on  the 
9th,  according  to  Lady  Paget,  ''  after  a  grand 
dejeuner  at  Laeken,  when  the  guests  walked  about 
in  the  gardens,  he  proposed  to  the  Princess." 

It  was  not,  however,  till  the  i6th  that  the 
betrothal  was  announced  in  the  English  press. 
But  rumour  in  the  meantime  had  been  busy  enough. 
The  public  were  informed  that  the  Prince  of  Wales 
and  the  Danish  Princess  had  appeared  in  public 
and  were  received  with  acclamations  by  the  peo- 
ple of  Brussels ;  that  they  had  visited  Waterloo 
together  ;  and  that  a  grand  review  had  been  held 
in  their  honour,  when  an  order  of  the  day  an- 
nounced to  the  troops  that  all  small  punishments 
would  be  remitted,  and  that  the  duties  of  the 
next  day  would  be  the  same  as  on  holidays. 

Considering  the  significance  of  such  public 
events,  why,  one  naturally  asks,  was  the  announce- 
ment of  the  betrothal,  sanctioned  by  the  Queen 
on  the  4th  and  to  which  the  Prince  of  Wales 
personally  pledged  himself  on  the  9th,  delayed 
till  the  i6th  ? 

No  explanation  has  ever  been  given.    Yet  this 


THE  OFFICIAL  ANNOUNCEMENT  75 

singular  delay  was  evidently  intentional.  Can  it 
be  that  the  Queen  and  her  ministers,  knowing  the 
political  inferences  that  would  everjrwhere  be 
drawn  from  this  marriage,  hoped  to  lessen  their 
importance  by  affecting  to  regard  the  matter  as  a 
private  rather  than  a  national  event  ?  The 
belated  announcement  on  the  i6th  seems  to  give 
colour  to  this  supposition. 

*'  We  understand,''  it  stated,  ''  that  the  marriage 
of  the  Prince  of  Wales  to  the  Princess  Alexandra 
of  Denmark  has  been  privately  settled  at  Brussels, 
and  that  it  is  based  entirely  on  mutual  affection 
and  the  personal  merit  of  the  young  Princess, 
and  is  in  no  way  connected  with  political  considera- 
tions. The  late  Prince  Consort,  whose  sole  object 
was  the  welfare  and  happiness  of  his  children,  had 
long  been  convinced  that  this  was  a  most  suitable 
marriage.  The  knowledge  of  this  is  in  itself  a 
sense  of  deep  gratification  to  the  Queen,  and  will 
be  as  such  satisfactory  to  the  country.*' 

Thus,  in  this  almost  apologetic  fashion,  the 
British  public  were  informed  of  the  Prince  of 
Wales's  betrothal.  The  announcement,  more- 
over, though  inspired,  if  not  actually  penned,  by 
the  Queen  herself,  did  not  even  pretend  to  be 
official,  and  the  Times,  in  an  obscure  corner  of 
which  it  was  inserted,  printed  it  without  comment. 
It  was  not  till  the  $th  of  November  that  the  Queen's 
formal  assent  to  the  marriage  was  officially  announced. 

If  it  was  the  intention  of  the  Government  to 
divest  the  affair  of  any  suggestion  of  political 
significance  the  object  was  not  attained.  In 
Germany,  where  the  marriage  of  two  British 
princesses  to  German  princes  had  been  regarded 


76  THE    MARRIAGE 

as  a  guarantee  of  English  support  in  the  settlement 
of  the  Schleswig-Holstein  question,  Queen  Victoria 
was  *'  openly  accused  of  having  betrayed  the 
German  cause." 

The  Danes  also  persisted  in  attaching  the 
greatest  political  importance  to  the  marriage. 
They  regarded  the  announcement  in  the  press 
merely  as  an  official  subterfuge,  and  joyfully 
counted  on  receiving  the  aid  of  England  in  the 
event  of  a  war. 

Even  in  England,  in  spite  of  repeated  warnings 
in  the  press  that  the  marriage  had,  and  could 
have,  no  political  significance,  opinion  was  not 
unwilling  to  regard  it  in  this  light.  While  hoping 
that  '*  they  would  not  be  compelled  to  understand 
the  Schleswig-Holstein  mystery,*'  the  people  were 
by  no  means  indifferent  to  the  German  designs  on 
Denmark.  The  attitude  adopted  by  a  strong 
Power  towards  a  weak  one  had  aroused  their  sense 
of  injustice.  Long  familiarised  by  rumour  with 
the  idea  of  the  Danish  marriage,  they  considered 
it  was  ''  a  chance  of  improving  England's  influence 
in  favour  of  peace."  This  hope,  coupled  with 
the  announcement  that  the  marriage  was  '*  based 
entirely  upon  mutual  affection,"  which  appealed 
powerfully  to  the  English  love  of  romance,  aroused 
an  extraordinary  enthusiasm. 

If  the  remark  of  Lady  Palmerston,  ''  I  like  the 
Danish  connection.  We  have  had  too  much  of 
Germany  and  Berlin  and  Coburgs,"  expressed 
the  general  opinion,  the  reputed  beauty  and 
charm  of  the  Princess  Alexandra  won  her  the 
sympathy  of  England  on  her  own  account  before 
she  arrived. 


PUBLIC   OPINION  77 

The  distrust  of  the  monarchy  which  had  existed 
when  Queen  Victoria  came  to  the  throne  twenty- 
five  years  before  had  not  yet  completely  vanished. 
In  spite  of  the  ever-increasing  greatness  and  pros- 
perity England  had  experienced  during  her  reign, 
the  respect  that  her  character  and  abilities  inspired 
had  yet,  under  the  mellowing  influence  of  time,  to 
ripen  into  the  veneration  in  which  she  was 
afterwards  held.  The  press,  voicing  public  opinion, 
was  continually  lecturing  and  criticising  royalty  in 
much  the  same  fashion  as  formerly  prompted 
Americans  to  ''  twist  the  lion's  tail.''  This  so- 
called  "  republicanism  "  was,  in  reality,  merely  a 
sort  of  irritated  loyalty.  The  strictures  on  mon- 
archical institutions  conflicted  with  an  inherent 
love  of  royalty  and  rank  which  always  asserted 
itself  when  royalty,  through  some  great  joy  or 
sorrow,  appeared  most  human. 

To  this  mute  appeal  to  sympathy  the  British 
people,  to  their  credit,  have  never  failed  to  respond. 
On  the  present  occasion  it  was  wrought  up  to 
concert  pitch.  All  England,  it  is  no  exaggeration 
to  say,  was  vibrant  with  a  joyful  expectation. 
The  real  proof  of  the  intensity  and  universality  of 
the  national  interest  is  to  be  found,  not  in  the 
various  Reminiscences,  Diaries,  or  Memoirs  which 
express  only  the  individual  opinion  of  the  writer, 
but  in  the  newspapers  of  the  period,  which,  read 
by  all,  formed  and  reflected  the  general  feeling. 
Such  as  have  the  time  or  courage  to  search  the 
dusty  and  ponderous  files  in  the  libraries  where 
these  ephemeral  sheets  are  still  preserved,  will 
find,  burning  in  their  long-forgotten  records,  like 
the    inextinguishable    lamps    in    the    tombs    of 


78  THE    MARRIAGE 

antiquity,  the  fire  of  those  emotions  of  which 
Sir  Walter  Raleigh  so  truly  said  : 

"  Tell  love  it  comes  unbidden. 
Tell  faith  'tis  of  the  heart. 
Tell  loyalty,  tho'  chidden, 

It  never  shall  depart. 
Men  say  that  they  shall  die. 
Then  give  the  world  the  lie  !  " 

III 

Of  the  many  factors  in  this  marriage  that 
appealed  so  powerfully  to  the  popular  imagina- 
tion, the  bride  was  the  chief.  Every  incident 
connected  with  her  movements  was  reported  in 
the  press.  In  Denmark  her  departure  was  regarded 
as  an  event  of  national  importance.  The  whole 
country  was  en  fete. 

Frederick  VII,  who  hated  display,  came  to  Copen- 
hagen for  the  occasion.  His  wedding  present  was 
magnificent.  The  necklace  he  gave  her  contained 
2,000  brilHants  and  ii8  pearls,  the  two  largest  of 
which  had  been  exhibited  at  the  International 
Exhibition  at  the  Crystal  Palace,  near  the  Koh-i- 
noor:  From  this  splendid  jewel  depended  a 
facsimile  of  the  celebrated  Dagmar  Cross,  in  which 
was  set  a  fragment  reputed  to  belong  to  the  True 
Cross  with  a  piece  of  silk  taken  from  the  grave 
of  King  Canute.  On  the  day  of  the  wedding  he 
gave  a  Court  ball  and  feasted  the  poor  ail  over 
the  country. 

After  having  taken  leave  of  the  King,  the  Princess 
drove  to  the  railway  station  in  an  open  carriage 
with  her  parents  and  eldest  brother.  Immense 
crowds  thronged  the  streets,  in  the  decoration  of 
which  great  taste  had  been  displayed.     Escorted 


DEPARTURE   OF  THE  PRINCESS         79 

by  Hussars  of  the  Guard,  the  carriage  proceeded 
so  slowly  that  it  took  an  hour  to  traverse  the  route, 
which  was  comparatively  short.  At  sight  of  her 
the  enthusiasm  of  the  populace  knew  no  bounds. 
Flowers  rained  upon  her  from  the  windows  as  she 
passed.  Her  fair  girlish  loveliness  excited  univer- 
sal admiration.  The  costume  she  had  selected 
for  the  occasion  suited  her  to  perfection.  It  was 
"  brown  silk  with  white  stripes,  and  one  of  those 
natty  little  bonnets  which  seemed  to  sit  better  on 
her  head  than  on  anybody  else's." 

Her  spirits,  sustained  by  excitement,  were  gay. 
There  was  no  sadness  of  farewell  to  oppress  them; 
Her  parents  and  all  her  brothers  and  sisters  were 
to  accompany  her  to  England.  It  seemed  to  her 
as  if  she  were  the  heroine  in  one  of  her  beloved 
Hans  Christian  Andersen's  fairy-tales  that  began 
''  Once  upon  a  time  ''  and  ended  *'  lived  happily 
ever  afterwards.'' 

At  the  railway  station,  bedecked  with  English 
and  Danish  flags,  a  guard  of  honour  was  drawn  up, 
and  all  the  ministers,  high  functionaries,  and  elite 
of  Copenhagen  were  assembled.     Before  entering 
the  train  the  Mayor  presented  her  with  a  farewell 
address,  for  which  her  father  returned  thanks. 
She  received  so  many  of  these  before  she  reached 
London  that  they  became  a  source  of  merriment. 
*'  I  found  her  pounding  Prince  Willy's  head  with 
the  address  of  the  Mayor  and  Corporation  of 
Mcirgate,"  wrote  one  who  travelled  in  her  suite. 
**  They  all  were  very  jolly  and  merry  together." 

Everywhere  throughout  her  journey  she  was 
greeted  with  enthusiasm.  The  peasants  flocked 
for  miles  around  to  get  a  glimpse  of  her  at  all  the 


80  THE    MARRIAGE 

stations  at  which  her  train  stopped.  At  Roskilde 
the  MiHtia  turned  out  to  welcome  her,  and  at 
Ringsted  a  regiment  of  Dragoons  was  paraded. 
At  Korsor,  where  she  embarked  for  Kiel,  there 
was  a  grand  display  of  fireworks. 

The  boat  in  which  she  crossed  was  called  the 
Schleswig,  and,  in  keeping  with  its  name,  a  slight 
derangement  in  the  machinery  caused  some  delay. 
At  Kiel  her  uncle,  the  Duke  of  Glucksburg,  gave  a 
banquet  in  her  honour.  The  Castle  was  crowded 
with  young  ladies  all  up  the  staircase. 

Even  in  Germany,  where  opinion  was  strongly 
opposed  to  the  marriage,  she  was  treated  with 
great  honour.  The  road  between  Altona  and 
Hamburg,  along  which  she  drove  at  night,  was 
brilliantly  illuminated,  as  were  also  the  Docks  in 
the  latter  city.  In  Hanover,  where  she  passed 
a  night,  the  King  entertained  her  sumptuously. 
At  Cologne  the  desire  to  see  her  was  so  great  that 
the  train  was  delayed  to  allow  her  to  drive  through 
the  streets.  A  woman  in  the  crowd,  as  she  passed, 
made  her  laugh  by  exclaiming,  ''  Oh,  what  a  dear 
little  thing  I  '' 

In  Brussels  she  stayed  some  days  to  recover  from 
her  journey  and  to  prepare  for  the  still  greater 
excitement  to  come.  But  she  obtained  little  rest. 
It  was  here  that  she  had  been  betrothed,  here  that 
her  wedding  dress,  the  gift  of  King  Leopold,  was 
made.  At  Court  there  were  magnificent  fetes  in 
her  honour.  In  public  she  had  but  to  appear  to 
receive  an  ovation.  At  the  last  moment  the  hour 
of  her  departure  was  secretly  altered  in  order  to 
save  her  the  fatigue  of  further  excitement. 

On  the  night  of  the  6th  of  March  the  Princess 


WHAT  ENGLAND   EXPECTED  81 

Alexandra  arrived  at  Margate.  The  wonderful 
experiences  through  which  she  had  passed  since 
setting  out  from  Copenhagen  eight  days  before 
were  as  nothing  compared  with  what  awaited  her 
now.  It  was  not  so  much  in  the  superiority  of 
the  ovation  she  received  as  in  its  character  that 
the  difference  lay.  The  demonstrations  of  which 
she  had  previously  been  the  object  were  in  reality 
homage  paid  to  the  might  and  majesty  of  England 
rather  than  to  herself.  Of  a  certainty,  had  she 
been  destined  to  be  the  bride  of  the  heir  to  any 
other  throne  in  Europe,  her  progress  would  have 
been  far  less  conspicuous.  Hitherto  she  had  been 
merely  a  symbol  of  British  greatness,  a  factor  in  its 
immense  prestige.  Henceforth  it  was  to  be  for 
herself  alone  that  she  was  to  be  honoured.  The 
distinction  was  subtle,  but  from  the  manner  in 
which  she  comported  herself  it  was  evident  that 
she  appreciated  it. 

She  was  assured  in  the  press  that  she  was  not 
only  taken  to  the  home  of  England's  future  King, 
but  also  to  the  hearts  of  the  whole  English  people  ; 
that  this  love  of  the  people  was  no  small  part  of 
her  happiness — ''  a  part  purchased  for  her  by  the 
exemplary  virtues  of  the  Royal  Family'';  that 
the  crowds  of  eager  faces,  the  spontaneous  out- 
burst of  enthusiasm,  the  magnificent  demonstra- 
tions and  universal  greetings,  meant  solemnly  one 
and  the  same  thing — that  the  English  people  took 
her  to  their  heart. 

She  was,  moreover,  reminded  that  she  had  come 

to  fill  a  lofty  station — so  lofty,  indeed,  that  it  could 

receive  but  one  additional  lustre — that  of  virtue  ; 

that  she  had  not  to  concern  herself  about  the 

6 


82  THE    MARRIAGE 

royalty  so  much  as  the  duty  of  her  station.  Nature 
had  blest  her  with  beauty,  health,  and  stately  pre- 
sence. Education  had  taught  her  the  use  of  these 
in  their  relation  to  high  position.  And  all  that 
her  new  station  asked  of  her  was  to  be  good  in  it. 
The  Danes,  however,  placed  a  quite  different 
interpretation  on  her  reception.  While  expressing 
the  great  satisfaction  felt  in  Denmark  at  the 
manner  in  which  the  Princess  had  been  received 
in  England,  a  leading  Danish  paper  said  signi- 
ficantly :  ''  It  is  very  desirable  that  England 
should  have  an  opportunity  of  knowing  more  of 
Danish  affairs  than  is  generally  supposed  to  be 
the  case.  It  would  not  be  pleasant,  or  becoming, 
however,  on  the  present  occasion  to  say  anything 
whatever  of  the  dispute  between  the  Duchies  and 
Denmark,  for  which  other  and  more  fitting 
opportunities  may  offer.'* 

IV 

In  the  previous  autumn  Princess  Alexandra  and 
her  father  had  been  the  guests  of  Queen  Victoria 
for  three  weeks  at  Windsor  and  Osborne.  The 
Prince  of  Wales  at  that  time  was,  by  special  desire 
of  the  Queen,  abroad,  and  the  visit  of  the  Princess 
was  of  so  private  a  nature  that  her  arrival  now 
had  all  the  novelty,  both  to  herself  and  England, 
of  a  first  acquaintance. 

A  determination  to  honour  the  bride  of  the 
Prince  of  Wales  was  the  sentiment  of  the  hour. 
It  not  only  pervaded  all  classes,  but  was,  perhaps, 
felt  and  expressed  most  strongly  by  those  who,  in 
social  position,  were  furthermost  removed  from  the 
Throne — the  great  mass  of  the  people. 


RECEPTION  OF  THE  PRINCESS  88 

A  single  idea  possessed  all  minds,  a  single  topic 
was  on  all  lips.  No  other  subject  seemed  able  to 
win  for  itself  so  much  as  five  minutes'  attention. 
Nobody  could  remember  anything  like  it.  In  the 
popular  eagerness  to  welcome  the  bride  every 
vestige  of  antagonism  between  the  Crown  and  the 
people  had  vanished. 

If  the  Princess's  reception  was  *'  the  most 
remarkable  accorded  to  royalty  in  modern  times/' 
as  a  spectacle  it  was  a  sorry  affair.  The  decora- 
tions were  tawdry  and  devoid  of  taste.  With  no 
precedent  to  serve  as  a  guide,  there  was  no  organisa- 
tion. The  Home  Office,  which  was  supposed  to 
be  responsible  for  all  the  details,  was  in  conflict 
with  the  municipalities  through  which  the  pro- 
cession was  to  pass,  and  they  in  their  turn  with 
one  another.  The  Mayor  and  Corporation  of 
London  insisted  on  having  a  Civic  Procession  of 
their  own  to  meet  and  conduct  the  Princess 
through  the  City,  which,  by  its  mismanagement, 
nearly  brought  disaster  to  the  whole  royal  progress. 
The  police  were  insufficient  to  control  the  enor- 
mous crowds,  and  no  troops  lined  the  route.  To 
add  to  the  confusion,  no  definite  hour  having  been 
fixed  for  the  procession  to  start,  nobody  knew 
when  it  would  appear  at  a  selected  point.  The 
weather,  too,  was  most  unpropitious ;  rain  and 
snow  fell  at  intervals  throughout  the  day. 

Yet,  in  spite  of  all  these  drawbacks,  the  en- 
thusiasm of  the  people  was  unabated.  The  day 
previous  it  seemed  as  if  London,  unable  any  longer 
to  contain  itself,  had  come  out  into  the  streets  to 
anticipate  the  pleasure  of  the  morrow.  The  City 
was  all  but  impassable.     Early  in  the  afternoon 


84  THE    MARRIAGE 

a  cab  was  an  hour  and  three-quarters  going  from 
Farringdon  Street  to  London  Bridge.  A  gentle- 
man who  was  in  it  declared  that  he  saw  but  one 
policeman  between  these  points.  From  which 
some  idea  of  the  confusion  and  excitement  on 
the  great  day  itself  may  be  gathered. 

On  Saturday  morning,  the  7th  of  March,  when 
the  royal  yacht  Victoria  and  Albert,  with  the 
Princess  on  board,  arrived  at  Gravesend,  the  very 
river  was  filled  with  a  seething  mass  of  humanity. 
At  sight  of  the  Princess  on  the  deck,  surrounded 
by  her  family,  a  mighty  shout  rent  the  air.  She 
was  dressed  entirely  in  white,  with  a  white  shawl 
draped  loosely  around  her  shoulders,  and  a  little 
white  bonnet  on  her  head.  In  this  virginal 
costume,  with  her  fair  hair  parted  in  the  middle, 
cL  VImperatrice  Eugenie,  she  appeared  a  mere 
girl.     She  was,  in  fact,  barely  nineteen. 

Though  warned  beforehand  what  to  expect,  she 
was  evidently  astonished.  With  a  frank  display 
of  wondering  pleasure  she  advanced  to  the  star- 
board taffrail,  and,  looking  from  side  to  side, 
bowed  her  acknowledgments,  every  now  and  then 
speaking  earnestly  to  her  mother,  who  stood  near. 
Occasionally,  as  the  cheering  on  the  port-side  grew 
deafening,  she  went  to  that  side  also.  But  this 
did  not  stop  the  cheers.  Nothing  did.  Even 
when  she  had  gone  below,  her  white  bonnet  and 
delighted  face,  peeping  from  some  unexpected 
window,  was  instantly  discovered  and  acclaimed. 
She  did  not,  nor  could  not,  doubt  the  sincerity 
of  her  greeting. 

The  Prince  of  Wales,  who  arrived  at  noon, 
received  a  delirious  welcome. 


Photo,  Augustin  Rischgitz. 

THE    PRINCE    OF    WAIVES    AT    THE    TIME    OF    HIS    MARRIAGE. 

(Alter  Winlerhalter.) 


THE   ENTRY   INTO  LONDON  85 

Whatever  anxiety — and  it  was  great — that  those 
in  charge  of  the  royal  progress  might  feel  as  to  the 
success  of  their  imperfect  arrangements,  it  was 
evident  that  the  good  temper  of  the  vast  multitude 
could  be  relied  on. 

At  Gravesend,  as  the  Princess  advanced  along 
the  pier,  sixty  young  girls  of  Kent,  dressed  in  the 
red  and  white  colours  of  Denmark,  strewed  flowers 
beneath  her  feet.  An  earl  drove  the  royal  train. 
It  proceeded  slowly  through  dense  masses  of  people, 
so  that  all  might  see  the  bride,  to  the  Bricklayers* 
Arms  Station  in  the  Old  Kent  Road.  From  this 
point  the  procession  started  at  half-past  one.  It 
consisted  of  six  carriages  and  an  escort  of  Life 
Guards.  The  first  five  carriages  contained  the 
suite  and  the  Princess's  young  brothers  and  sisters. 
She,  with  the  Prince  at  her  side  and  her  parents 
opposite,  rode  in  the  sixth. 

The  captivating  white  dress  she  had  worn  in  the 
morning  had  been  changed  for  a  *'  mauve-coloured 
silk,  with  a  richly  embroidered  violet  velvet  mantle 
bordered  with  sable,  and  a  white  silk  bonnet 
trimmed  with  blush  roses  and  rosebuds.'* 

Those  who  objected  to  crinolines  observed  with 
pleasure  ''  that  the  skirt  was  of  very  moderate 
expanse,  and  hoped  that  the  hint,  given  at  the 
very  fountain-head  of  fashion,  would  not  be  lost 
on  the  foolish  girls  who  are  daily  risking  their  own 
and  others'  lives  by  wearing  draperies  of  the  most 
absurd  dimensions." 

As  the  procession  went  down  the  Old  Kent 
Road  snow  began  to  fall.  But  the  elements, 
which  behaved  in  the  most  capricious  way,  failed 
to  damp  the  ardour  of  the  multitude  that  day, 


86  THE   MARRIAGE 

and  "  the  smile  of  the  Princess  was  more  enchant- 
ing than  ever." 

The  first  hitch  occurred  on  London  Bridge. 
Here  the  procession  was  detained  nearly  half  an 
hour,  while  a  bleak  wind  blew  down  the  river, 
with  gusts  of  snow  and  rain.  The  reason  of  this 
unconscionable  delay  was  due  to  the  difficulty  ex- 
perienced by  the  Lord  Mayor  and  Corporation, 
who  had  lingered  too  long  over  lunch  at  the  Guild- 
hall, in  proceeding  through  the  dense  crowds  to 
welcome  the  royal  couple.  The  Lord  Mayor 
alone  was  able  to  reach  them.  The  coaches  of 
the  Corporation  remained  stuck  fast  in  the  crowd, 
which,  finding  them  an  impediment  to  its  comfort, 
forced  them  into  the  obscurity  of  the  side  streets. 
In  the  meantime  the  anxiety  and  inconvenience 
of  the  Prince  and  Princess  may  be  imagined.  It 
was  impossible  to  prevent  the  people  from  pressing 
round  their  carriage.  One  man  actually  mounted 
behind  the  Prince  of  Wales  to  avoid  being  crushed. 

In  the  end,  owing  to  the  inefficiency  of  the  police, 
it  was  necessary  to  send  for  a  squad  of  cavalry  to 
clear  a  way  for  the  royal  carriage  with  drawn 
sabres.  But,  though  a  way  was  cleared,  what  a 
way  it  was !  From  King  WilHam  Street  to  the 
Mansion  House  was  a  battle-ground,  strewn  with 
hats,  caps,  bonnets,  shoes,  crinolines,  and  the 
fragments  of  almost  every  variety  of  human  attire, 
male  and  female,  torn  from  their  wearers  in  the 
fearful  crush.  But  for  the  good  temper  that 
prevailed  there  must  have  been  a  serious  loss  of 
life.  As  it  was,  many  were  injured,  and  some 
past  recovery. 

On  arriving  at  the  Mansion   House  the  royal 


ENTHUSIASM   OF  THE  PEOPLE  87 

carriage,  which  had  proceeded  with  the  greatest 
difficulty,  was  separated  from  the  others  and 
hemmed  in  completely.  For  a  time  it  seemed  as 
if  the  spectacle,  from  which  all  semblance  of  order 
had  vanished,  would  end  in  some  terrible  cata- 
strophe. '*  Above  the  cheering  the  shrieks  of 
women  were  painfully  audible,  and  boys,  in  a 
pitiable  state  of  terror,  were  seen  waging  a  struggle 
for  life.'*  The  Princess  herself,  with  her  own 
hands,  was  seen  to  rescue  the  head  of  a  youth 
which  had  got  entangled  in  the  wheels.  An 
attempt  was  even  made  by  some  to  unharness  the 
horses  and  draw  the  carriage. 

The  calmness  of  the  young  Princess  in  all  this 
agitation  was  marvellous,  and  it  was  in  no  small 
degree  due  to  her  enchanting  smile  that  the  tem- 
per of  the  tortured  mass  remained  amiable. 
Only  once,  when  one  of  her  escort,  whose  horse 
fell  with  the  rider  in  the  saddle,  was  nearly 
killed  before  her  eyes,  did  she  spring  from  her  seat 
in  alarm ;  but,  on  being  assured  of  his  safety,  she 
quickly  regained  her  apparent  composure. 

Though  the  streets  in  the  West  End  were 
broader  than  the  old  narrow  lanes  of  the  City,  the 
crowds  that  thronged  them  were  as  great.  It  was 
estimated  that  there  were  30,000  people  at  least 
in  St.  James's  Street.  Many  who  had  paid  large 
sums  for  windows  were  unable  to  get  to  them, 
while  others  arrived  to  find  their  places  already 
occupied.  The  tedium  of  waiting,  reports  of  a 
disaster  in  the  City,  and  the  general  absence  of 
police  control,  only  added  to  the  confusion.  Even 
at  so  open  a  space  as  Hyde  Park  Corner  the  press 
was  terrific .     *  *  At  one  time, ' '  reported  an  observer, 


88  THE    MARRIAGE 

*'  a  baby  was  held  up  which  had  all  the  appearance 
of  being  dead.  At  another,  a  woman  was  seen  to 
throw  an  infant  into  a  passing  vehicle  to  save  its 
life,  and  was  then  swept  into  the  vortex  herself/* 

Moving  slowly  through  the  midst  of  such  scenes, 
the  royal  carriage  finally  reached  Paddington  at 
5.30.  It  had  been  over  four  hours  in  coming 
from  the  Bricklayers'  Arms !  Throughout  the 
day  it  had  snowed  and  rained  at  intervals,  now  it 
began  to  rain  steadily.  This,  however,  did  not 
deter  the  crowds  that  were  waiting  to  cheer  the 
Princess  on  her  way  to  Windsor.  Even  the  poor 
inmates  of  Hanwell  Lunatic  Asylum,  drawn  up  in 
the  grounds  skirted  by  the  railway,  brandished 
flags  and  shouted  ''  Welcome  !  " 

As  there  was  no  direct  line  to  Windsor  in  those 
days,  the  royal  party  were  obliged  to  leave  the 
train  at  Slough.  Owing  to  the  inclemency  of  the 
weather,  the  remainder  of  the  journey  was 
finished  in  closed  carriages,  to  the  great  disappoint- 
ment of  the  multitudes  that  still  lined  the  road. 
At  the  foot  of  the  Castle  the  ringing  cheers  of  the 
Eton  boys  relieved  the  anxiety  of  the  Queen,  who 
had  been  waiting  at  a  window  for  over  an  hour. 

It  was  nearly  seven  when  the  weary  and  be- 
draggled Princess,  as  the  Times  informed  its 
sympathetic  readers,  **  found  ample  solace  for 
all  the  toil  and  excitement  of  the  day  in  the  arms 
of  the  royal  lady,  who  before  another  sun  has 
rolled  over  us  will  be  her  loving  mother.'' 

Such  was  the  introduction  of  the  Princess 
Alexandra  to  the  people  of  England.  It  was 
one  of  the  most  remarkable  events  of  its  kind  in 
history,  unequalled   even  by  the  demonstrations 


A   SUBLIME  EMOTION  89 

which  greeted  Marie  Antoinette  when  she  entered 
Paris  as  a  bride,  and  fortunately  without  the 
shocking  catastrophe  which  attended  that  event. 
Since  the  French  Revolution  royalty  had  never 
received  such  homage  from  democracy.  The 
welcome  was,  in  the  highest  degree,  a  popular 
demonstration.     In  this  lay  its  true  significance. 

The  spectacle  was  measured  by  miles  and  the 
spectators  by  millions.  For  seats,  the  money 
would  have  purchased  a  decent  principality  or 
settled  the  debt  of  such  a  kingdom  as  Greece.  And 
all  this  to  view  six  plain  carriages  driving  from 
one  railway  station  to  another  without  the  least 
pretence  at  pomp  or  royal  display.  Well  might  she 
ponder  how  she  passed  without  so  much  as  the 
Continental  line  of  gens  d'armes  along  the  living 
line  of  English  faces. 

There  is  something  sublime  in  the  strength  and 
intensity  of  such  enthusiasm.  It  not  only  drew 
the  people  nearer  to  the  Throne,  but  at  the  same 
time  to  one  another.  The  subjects  of  an  Empire 
on  which  the  sun  never  sets  can  seldom  experience 
in  all  its  interest  that  sense  of  sympathy  and 
mutual  reliance  which  ennobled  the  cities  of 
antiquity.  It  is  well  for  a  people  when  such 
emotions  can  be  experienced  generally  and  with- 
out reserve,  and  it  is  not  the  least  advantage 
of  monarchy  that  it  is  able  to  rally  around  it  this 
sentiment  in  time  of  peace,  and  when  it  would 
otherwise  be  dormant.  It  is  chiefi}^  because  it 
contributed  to  this  in  so  high  a  degree  that  the 
marriage  of  the  Prince  of  Wales  has  far  more  than 
an  ephemeral  interest,  and  is  a  memorable  event 
in  the  history  of  England. 


W)  THE    MARRIAGE 


After  the  event  of  the  7th  of  March  the  wedding 
on  the  loth  was  almost  in  the  nature  of  an  anti- 
dimax.  The  great  welcome  of  the  people  might 
be  described  as  the  civil  marriage,  the  wedding 
at  Windsor  being  the  religious  ceremony.  The 
former  was  witnessed  by  millions,  the  latter  by 
a  select  and  chosen  few.  Among  them  were  to 
be  seen  Palmer ston,  Gladstone,  Disraeli,  and 
their  wives,  as  well  as  Dickens,  Thackeray, 
Tennyson,  Kingsley,  and  Stanley. 

Of  the  royal  guests,  the  most  conspicuous  was 
the  Crown  Princess  of  Prussia.  As  she  advanced 
to  her  place  a  fine  little  boy,  all  unmoved  by  the 
pomp  around  him,  dragged  on  his  mother's  arm 
as  he  looked  behind  him  and  was  with  difficulty 
brought  to  his  little  feet  to  surmount  the  three 
steps  of  the  haut  pas.  This  child,  dressed  in 
Highland  costume,  was  destined  to  become, 
many  years  later.   Kaiser  Wilhelm  II. 

Queen  Victoria  had  expressed  the  desire  that 
the  Prince  of  Wales  should  be  married  with  the 
'*  utmost  magnificence."  With  this  end  in  view 
no  more  suitable  place  could  have  been  chosen 
than  St.  George's  Chapel,  Windsor.  The  sheer 
beauty  of  this  Gothic  gem,  sanctified  by  the 
immemorial  memories  of  the  glorious  past,  cast 
a  romantic  and  picturesque  glamour  over  the 
splendid  scene  staged  within  its  walls. 

It  was  such  a  picture  as  an  artist  of  the  Re- 
naissance might  have  conceived.  In  this  spec- 
tacle Queen  Victoria,  who  gazed  down  upon  it 
from  a  quaint  pew  in  the  wall  above  the  chancel 


WAITING  FOR  THE   BRIDE  91 

on  a  level  with  the  organ,  was  the  most  striking 
feature.  Clad  in  black  to  her  gloves,  her  sombre 
attire  relieved  only  by  the  blue  ribbon  and  star 
of  the  Garter,  grief  and  care  were  stamped  on 
every  line  of  her  face.  Seen  thus,  she  lent  a 
curious  pathos  to  the  gorgeous  scene.  It  drew 
tears  from  the  eyes  of  Lord  Palmerston,  a  states- 
man, one  would  think,  proof  against  such  appeals 
to  the  senses.  She  attracted  every  eye,  and  all  in 
the  stately  assembly  bowed  low  and  curtseyed 
to  her  before  taking  their  places. 

Till  the  arrival  of  the  bride,  however,  the  bride- 
groom was  the  centre  of  attraction.  As  he  waited 
her  coming,  a  solitary  and  resplendent  figure  in  his 
Garter  robes  on  the  blue-carpeted  haul  pas  in  front 
of  the  choir,  he  looked  the  beau-ideal  of  a  prince. 

"It  is  a  wonder,"  was  the  ecstatic  opinion  of 
one  of  the  newspaper  reporters,  ''  the  people  did 
not  leap  up  at  him,  or  cast  their  garments 
upon  him,  as  the  Athenians  of  old  did  to  their 
favourites." 

The  pleasure  experienced  by  all  in  beholding 
him  was  deepened  by  the  expectancy  with  which 
his  beautiful  bride  was  awaited.  There  was  a 
buzz  of  admiration  as  the  lovely  vision  appeared. 

Her  bridal  dress,  the  gift  of  Leopold  I,  was  a 
wonderful  creation.  The  veil  was  fastened  by  a 
diadem  of  diamonds  designed  to  represent  the 
three  plumes  of  the  Prince  of  Wales,  whose  wed- 
ding present  it  was.  Beneath  it  a  long  pendent 
curl  fell  on  her  neck,  around  which  she  wore 
Frederick  VITs  magnificent  diamond  and  pearl 
necklace.  Queen  Victoria's  gift,  a  superb  bracelet 
of   opals   and  diamonds,  encircled  her  left  arm. 


92  THE    MARRIAGE 

while  her  bouquet  of  orange  -  flowers  was  the 
present  of  the  Maharajah  Dhuleep  Singh 

It  was  a  truly  princely  gift.  The  ''bouquet 
holder"  was  a  chef  d'ceuvre  of  the  jeweller's  art. 
The  upper  part  receiving  the  flowers  was  carved 
out  of  rock-crystal,  and  had  taken  the  lapidary 
some  months  to  execute.  It  was  trumpet- 
shaped,  the  crystals  being  inlaid  with  large 
emeralds  and  diamonds,  relieved  with  pink  coral 
and  oriental  pearls.  The  shaft  contained  four 
feather-like  plumes  composed  of  brilliants,  and 
under  each  the  letter  ''  A  "  in  rubies.  A  crystal 
ball  set  with  rubies  terminated  the  shaft  or 
handle.  Around  the  centre  was  a  ring,  arranged 
as  the  Princess's  coronet,  and  to  which  was  attached 
a  chain  of  large  pearls  and  gold,  with  a  hoop 
of  pearls  to  wear  on  the  finger.  As  a  delicate 
allusion  to  the  donor,  a  small  Star  of  India  in 
diamonds  was  introduced  in  the  ornamentation. 

An  extreme  pallor,  accentuated  by  the  whiteness 
of  her  bridal  dress,  gave  her  beauty  an  indefinable 
air  of  caste.  She  looked  the  personification  of 
Pedigree.  Every  lineament  of  her  flower-like 
features,  every  movement  of  her  graceful  form, 
bore  the  unmistakable  impress  of  royal  lineage. 

''  Her  face,"  said  Dickens,  ''was  very  pale  and 
full  of  a  sort  of  awe  and  wonder.  It  was  the 
face  of  no  ordinary  bride,  not  simply  a  timid, 
shrinking  girl,  but  one  with  a  distinctive  charac- 
ter of  her  own,  prepared  to  act  a  part  greatly." 

Glittering  with  jewels  and  enveloped  in  volu- 
minous folds  of  dazzling  whiteness  trailing  behind 
her  like  foam,  she  seemed  to  float  rather  than  walk 
up  the  Gothic  nave. 


QUEEN  VICTORIA  WEEPS  98 

''  There  was  no  one  present/'  added  Dickens, 
*'  who  did  not  feel  the  effect  of  that  slowness  of 
progress  which  carried  the  bride  so  gradually 
and  with  such  almost  imperceptible  movement 
past  them." 

Thackeray  declared  that,  as  he  watched  her 
advancing  thus,  followed  by  her  eight  brides- 
maids similarly  attired,  he  was  reminded  of  the 
princesses  in  the  fairy-tale  who  had  been  changed 
into  swans. 

Suddenly,  in  the  midst  of  this  almost  en- 
chanted scene,  a  human  chord  was  struck.  Queen 
Victoria  was  seen  to  withdraw  into  the  interior 
of  her  lofty  pew,  weeping  bitterly.  At  the 
sound  of  Jenny  Lind's  glorious  voice  chanting 
the  Chorale  to  the  solemn,  sorrowful  music  of  the 
Prince  Consort,  which  had  been  specially  chosen 
for  the  occasion,  she  had  been  reminded  of  that 
terrible  day  fifteen  months  before,  when,  on  the 
very  spot  on  which  the  bridal  couple  now  stood, 
she  had  gazed  distracted  upon  the  coffin  of  her 
beloved  husband.  ''The  sight  of  her  grief  cast  a 
momentary  awe  over  the  ceremony,  which  rendered 
the  emotions  of  those  present  almost  sublime." 

The  popular  excitement  continued  for  some 
days.  On  proceeding  to  Osborne  in  the  Isle  of 
Wight,  where  the  honeymoon  was  spent,  the 
royal  pair  received  an  ovation  all  along  the  route. 
The  platforms  of  the  railway  stations  through 
which  they  passed  were  choked  with  people. 
At  Basingstoke  alone  upwards  of  4,000  persons 
were  admitted.  In  London,  on  the  night  of  the 
wedding,  the  theatres  were  free  to  as  many  as 
they  could  contain,  and  all  traffic  was  suspended 


94  THE    MARRIAGE 

to  enable  the  populace  to  view  the  illumina- 
tions in  safety.  Even  so,  the  press  was  terrific, 
and  many  were  seriously,  some  fatally,  injured. 
All  over  England  bonfires  were  lit.  The  one 
at  Folkestone  was  seen  in  France. 

Similar  scenes  were  witnessed  also  wherever 
the  EngHsh  flag  flew.  Dublin  alone  refused  to 
join  in  the  general  jubilation.  Here  a  riotous 
mob  paraded  the  streets  and  tore  down  the 
decorations.  Throughout  the  Colonies  '*to  the 
last,  least  lump  of  coral,"  the  event  was  made 
the  occasion  of  remarkable  manifestations  of 
loyalty.  Nor  were  the  English  residents  in 
foreign  countries  less  demonstrative.  Every- 
where the  subjects  of  the  Queen  gathered  to- 
gether to  testify  their  devotion  to  her  throne  and 

"  The  last  and  the  largest  empire 
The  map  that  is  half-unrolled." 

Frith,  the  most  popular  painter  of  the  day,  was 
commissioned  by  the  Queen  to  depict  the  scene 
in  St.  George's  Chapel.  Countless  engravings  of 
his  picture  were  published,  and  sold  throughout 
the  country. 

As  for  the  Press,  adulation  was  the  key-note 
of  all  its  reports.  For  once  the  voice  of  faction 
was  silent,  and  papers  of  every  shade  of  opinion 
united  to  eulogise  the  Royal  Family.  On  the 
wedding  morning  Tennyson's  famous  *' Welcome" 
appeared  in  the  Times  : 

*'  Sea-king's  daughter  from  over  the  sea, 
Alexandra  ! 
Saxon  and  Norman  and  Dane  are  we. 
But  all  of  us  Danes  in  our  welcome  of  thee, 
Alexandra  !  " 


CHAPTER  IV 
THE  CHARM  OF  THE  QUEEN 

I.    DEMEANOUR  OF  THE  PRINCESS  ON  HER  ENTRY  INTO  LONDON THE 

GENERAL    IMPRESSION — IRRESISTIBLE    APPEAL    OF    HER    PERSONALITY 

ALEXANDRA   SIMPATICA.       II.    EARLY    PHOTOGRAPHS    OF    THE   PRINCESS 

THEIR   LACK   OF   RESEMBLANCE THE   ELUSIVE   QUALITY   OF  HER   CHARM 

THE  OPINIONS  OF  CELEBRATED  PAINTERS  AND  SCULPTORS BENJAMIN 

constant's  portrait PEERLESS  BEAUTY  OF  THE  PRINCESS A  WOMAN'S 

IMPRESSION.       III.    DEEPLY   RELIGIOUS   NATURE    OF   THE   PRINCESS HER 

TOLERANCE    AND    CHEERFULNESS HER    ADMIRATION    OF    GLADSTONE 

HER  SYMPATHY  FOR  MRS.  GLADSTONE  ON  HIS  DEATH HER  IMPULSIVENESS 

HOW     IT    APPEALED     TO     THE     PUBLIC DEATH     OF     CECIL     RHODES 

INFLAMED     STATE     OF     PUBLIC     OPINION THE     QUEEN 'S     TRIBUTE ITS 

DIGNITY THE  MARATHON  RACE INTEREST  IT  AROUSED ITS  DRAMATIC 

FINISH POPULAR  SYMPATHY  FOR  THE  LOSER IMPULSIVE  CONDUCT  OF 

THE     QUEEN THE     EXTRAORDINARY     ENTHUSIASM     IT      EXCITED THE 

SECRET   OF   HER   LIFE-LONG   APPEAL   TO    THE   MASSES. 

I 

And  what  of  the  Princess  in  this  world  all  in  gala  ? 
How  did  she  play  her  part  in  the  ecstatic  opera  ? 

To  this  question  there  was  and  could  be  but 
one  answer.  All  agreed  that  she  could  not  have 
borne  herself  better  if  her  whole  hfe  had  been 
a  preparation  for  this  great  occasion. 

This  is  no  light  praise.  Such  an  experience 
demands  moral  qualities  of  a  high  order,  and  an 
uncommon  degree  of  nerve  and  endurance.  Sel- 
dom has  anyone  of  her  age  and  sex  been  exposed 
to  the  gaze  of  so  many  beings  under  such  con- 
ditions. It  is  only  by  some  great  effort  of  the 
will  that  it  is  possible  to  preserve  self-control 
under  so  severe  a  strain. 

Public  expectation  had  been  raised  to  a  peril- 

95 


96     THE  CHARM  OF  THE  QUEEN 

ous  pitch.  A  breath,  a  murmur,  and  the  whole 
edifice  of  hope  would  have  collapsed  like  a  house 
of  cards.  Hitherto  known  only  by  repute,  the 
Princess  was  called  upon  to  justify,  not  only  by 
her  looks  but  by  her  manner,  the  enthusiasm  she 
had  aroused.  Yet  never  was  a  welcome  more 
richly  deserved.  It  was  not  so  much  her  beauty, 
which  made  it  impossible  for  any  in  the  crowds 
that  greeted  her  to  resist  the  overmastering 
impulse  to  cheer  her,  as  the  innate  goodness,  the 
genuine  kindness  of  heart  that  were  revealed 
in  her  every  look  and  gesture. 

Those  who  caught  ever  so  transiently  the  ex- 
pression of  that  bright,  serious,  girlish  face  were 
not  likely  to  forget  it.  *'  They  saw  queenly 
dignity  blended  with  almost  childish  grace, 
exquisite  purity,  and  depth  and  naturalness  of 
feeling." 

Reflecting  on  the  extraordinary  admiration 
this  simply-bred  girl  evoked,  one  involuntarily 
thinks  of  her  mother.  Was  it  not  she  who  had 
formed  the  character  whose  '*  exquisite  purity  " 
was  so  apparent  to  all,  who  had  given  that 
'*  depth  and  naturalness  of  feeling  "  its  goodness  ? 
Was  not  her  daughter's  noble  destiny  a  proof 
that  the  principles  she  had  inculcated  with 
such  care  had  borne  fruit,  that  her  conception 
of  duty  was  justified  ? 

But  if  the  warmth  of  the  Princess  Alexandra's 
welcome  can  be  traced  to  the  influence  of  her 
mother's  character  on  her  own,  it  was  a  subtler 
power  that  changed  the  admiration  of  the  day 
into  the  popularity  of  a  life-time.  This  power 
emanated  from  within  the  Princess  herself.     It 


ALEXANDRA  SIMPATICA  97 

was  the  dominant  element  of  her  personality, 
the  solvent  in  which  every  other  was  blended. 
The  charm  she  exercised  everybody  felt,  women 
as  well  as  men. 

*'  I  have  known  many  women,''  wrote  the 
Crown  Princess  several  years  later,  ''  who  pleased 
all  men  without  exception,  but  none  like  Alexandra, 
who  won  the  approval  of  her  own  sex  without 
exciting  jealousy/' 

For  personalities  such  as  hers  the  Italians  have 
a  word — simpatica.  Alexandra  Simpatica\  The 
phrase  explains  the  secret  of  her  irresistible 
appeal  more  completely  and  vividly  than  any 
amount  of  description  could  do. 

II 

Of  the  many  photographs  of  the  Queen  that 
the  public  have  been  permitted  to  purchase,  the 
first  appeared  immediately  after  her  marriage. 
The  enterprising  photographer  advertised  them 
as  follows  : 

'*  A   Series  of  Portraits  photographed 
FROM  Life 

*'  They  represent  the  Prince  and  Princess  of 
Wales  in  many  attitudes,  and  will  enable  those 
who  peruse  them  carefully  to  become  almost  as 
familiar  with  their  personal  appearance  as  if  they 
had  lived  with  them  from  infancy. 

**  In  one  of  these  pictures  the  Princess  stands 

in  the  favourite  position  of  portrait  painters,  with 

her  hands  clasped  in  front  and  her  head  slightly 

inclined  towards  the  right.     In  another  she  sits 

7 


6S     THE  CHARM  OF  THE  QUEEN 

writing  at  an  escritoire.  In  a  third  she  stoops 
over  a  book  she  is  reading  with  a  look  of  close 
and  thoughtful  attention.  In  another,  the  most 
beautiful  of  all,  she  looks  up  from  a  photographic 
album  to  join  in  animated  conversation  with 
someone  seated  opposite,  but  not  appearing  in 
the  picture. 

**  The  artist  has  been  eminently  happy  in 
representing  the  beauty  of  the  Princess,  as  well 
as  the  animation  and  the  thoughtfulness  which 
at  times  seem  to  characterise  her  countenance." 

Poor  Princess  ! 

The  wording  of  this  advertisement,  so  typical 
of  the  stiff  formality  of  Mid- Victorian  days,  will 
doubtless  cause  those  to  smile  who  read  it  now. 

Such  as  may  have  chanced  to  preserve  copies 
of  these  very  conventional  photographs  will 
have  no  need  to  look  at  them  to  reaHse  their  utter 
lifelessness.  No  doubt,  considering  the  unde- 
veloped state  of  photographic  art  at  the  time, 
they  have  a  certain  resemblance  to  the  original, 
but  that  art  was  certainly  not  one  capable  of 
reproducing  an  expression  so  mobile  and  elusive 
as  that  of  the  Princess.  She  was  too  beautiful 
not  to  make  a  beautiful  picture,  but  even  in  later 
years  the  best  photographs  fail  to  do  her  justice. 
At  the  most  they  are  merely  beautiful  masks  that 
conceal  the  personality  of  the  woman.  In  front 
of  the  camera  the  extreme  mobility  of  her  expres- 
sion became  rigid  and  unnatural. 

The  attempts  of  the  '*  moving  pictures  "  have 
been  equally  unsuccessful.  But  in  this  case  it 
has  not  been  the  fault  of  the  cinema  so  much  as 
of  the  cinema  photographers,  who,  to  her   annoy- 


A  RESTLESS  MODEL  09 

ance,  seemed  to  stand  too  much  in  awe  of  her  to 
indicate  how  and  when  they  wished  to  "  snap ' '  her. 

This  elusive  quality  was,  too,  the  despair  of 
painters  and  sculptors  alike.  In  her  youth  it 
was  most  noticeable  in  her  eyes,  whose  soft  blue 
depths  had  at  times  an  indefinable  expression 
of  gentleness.  Her  smile  was  especially  baffling. 
No  artist  could  ever  quite  succeed  in  reproducing 
its  peculiar  fascination. 

She  was  too  restless  to  be  a  good  model. 

''I  soon  discovered,"  wrote  Frith,  *' that  the 
illustrious  young  lady  did  not  know  that  the  keep- 
ing of  her  face  in  one  position,  for  a  few  minutes 
only,  was  necessary  to  enable  an  artist  to  catch 
a  resemblance  of  it.  I  did  not  dare  to  complain 
till  after  two  or  three  attempts." 

But  complaint  availed  him  little,  and  in  the 
end  he  was  obliged  to  paint  from  a  photograph, 
and  only  asked  for  sittings  of  a  few  minutes. 
On  receiving  his  commission  he  had  counted  on 
producing  a  masterpiece.  He  succeeded  only 
in  painting  a  lifeless  image  in  which  his  art  was 
displayed  in  arrangement  and  colour. 

Gibson,  one  of  the  greatest  sculptors  of  his 
time,  was  equally  unfortunate. 

"  I  saw  at  once,"  he  confessed  to  Frith,  *'  what 
a  pretty  subject  she  was  for  a  bust.  I  modelled 
it  in  fourteen  days.  The  Princess  sat  eight  times 
— an  hour  each  sitting.  She  is  a  delightful  lady, 
always  good-natured  and  full  of  good  sense,  but 
she  can't  sit  a  bit." 

Many  years  later,  when  she  had  learned  to  sit, 
Benjamin  Constant,  the  famous  French  artist, 
painted  her.     His  portrait  was  one  of  the  most 


100    THE  CHARM  OF  THE  QUEEN 

successful.  The  following  was  his  impression  of 
her  : 

**  Rather  tall,  slender,  and  elegante,  never  princess 
has  had  such  a  charm  as  Alexandra.  Her  features 
have  preserved  their  youth  and  mobility.  Her  eyes 
are  a  deep,  pure  blue,  their  expression  is  almost 
timid,  and  her  face  radiates  kindness  and  sympathy. 

'*She  was  always  late  at  her  sittings,  and  the 
manner  in  which  she  excused  herself  made  me 
feel  that  it  was  I  who  should  apologise  for  taking 
up  her  time.  She  spoke  with  so  much  courtesy 
and  naturalness,  so  gently,  and  in  such  perfect 
French  that  I  said  to  myself,  '  Our  Queens  of 
France  in  the  old  days  must  have  spoken  so.'  She 
was  quiet,  and  granted  all  the  sittings  necessary 
with  much  grace.  Miss  Charlotte  Knollys,  a  lady 
of  rare  intelligence,  who  accompanied  her,  would 
speak  occasionally  to  my  model  and  the  painter,  and 
the  time  passed  quickly,  too  quickly,  whilst  the 
Princess's  Japanese  dog  snorted  on  his  cushion." 

That  exquisite  grace  of  manner,  which  the 
French  painter  likened  to  the  hel  air  of  an  old- 
world  queen,  made  a  deep  impression  on  the 
imagination.  It  was  said  of  her,  as  was  said  of 
Marie  Antoinette,  that  it  seemed  as  natural  to 
offer  her  a  throne  as  any  other  woman  a  chair. 
In  her  case,  however,  this  queenly  dignity  was 
entirely  free  from  any  suggestion  of  pride.  With 
Alexandra,  kind  hearts  were  more  than  coronets. 

Queens  of  Society,  celebrated  beauties  from  all 
nations,  assembled  at  Sandringham  from  time  to 
time ;  yet  there  was  an  indescribable  something 
about  her  which  threw  then  all  into  the  shade. 

**  I  have  heard  even  the  men  declare  that  every 


»      •    ^»    »    •     , 


Photo,  W.  &  D.  Downey. 

QUEEN    AI,EXANDRA    IN    1883. 


FAIREST   OF  THE  FAIR  101 

woman  looks  frightful  in  the  room  with  the 
Princess  of  Wales/'  wrote  a  woman  in  the  hey- 
day of  the  Queen's  beauty.  '*  The  only  women 
I  remember  who  in  any  way  resembled  her  were 
Lady  Spencer  ('Spenser's  Faerie  Queene'),  Lady 
Blandford,  Lady  Dudley,  and  perhaps  one  or 
two  others.  The  professionals  were  quite  out 
of  the  running,  notwithstanding  their  undeniable 
beauty  and  siren  graces.  They  lacked  the  refine- 
ment and  unconsciousness  of  the  gentlewoman." 
Another  remarkable  thing  about  the  Princess 
was  that,  whilst  most  women  look  better  in  one 
dress  than  another,  she  looked  well  in  everything. 
"  You  see  her  in  full  dress  with  rows  of  pearls, 
and  those  magnificent  diamonds  which,  of  all 
adornments,  are  the  most  difficult  to  wear  in 
profusion  without  exceeding  the  limits  of  good 
taste  and  not  look  smothered  in  them,  and  you 
think  that  decidedly  evening  dress  sets  her  off 
to  the  best  advantage.  You  see  her  in  the  morn- 
ing and  find  that  you  have  made  a  mistake,  and 
like  her  better  in  that  quiet  serge  dress  and  her 
favourite  Danish  cross.  Yes,  most  certainly  she 
ought  to  be  seen  in  the  morning.  Then,  in  a 
bonnet,  was  there  ever  anyone  like  the  Prin- 
cess ?  And  so  on,  through  all  the  changes.  In 
her  sailor's  hat,  or  riding  habit,  or  rough  ulster 
and  cap,  driving  the  miniature  four-in-hand 
of  ponies  that  might  have  been  Cinderella's  in 
her  fairy  days,  with  the  silvery  bells  and  dogs 
barking  round  her,  she  is  peerless.  You  finally 
give  up  all  comparisons  and  discover  what  England 
found  out  long  ago,  that  the  fairest  of  daughters 
is  Alexandra  of  Denmark,  Princess  of  Wales." 


102  tHE   CHARM   OF   THE   QUEEN 

III 

As  a  result  of  her  early  training  she  was  deeply 
religious.  It  was  this  quality  to  which  she  owed 
her  air  of  purity,  and  which  rendered  it  impossible 
for  scandal  ever  to  busy  itself  with  her  name. 
Her  faith  in  the  Christian  religion  was  simple  and 
unquestioning.  She  invariably  resorted  to  it  for 
consolation  in  her  afflictions  and  when  seeking  to 
relieve  the  distress  of  others.  Like  her  husband, 
she  seldom  failed  to  attend  church  on  Sundays. 
Mrs.  Gladstone,  who  knew  her  well,  said  that  when 
at  Sandringham  ''  she  always  chose  the  hymns.'* 

A  nature  so  sympathetic  could  not  be  other 
than  tolerant.  Her  religion  was  eminently 
cheerful  and  charitable.  She  believed  in  the 
saving  grace  of  a  kind  action,  and  regarded  the 
quality  of  mercy  as  the  chief  attribute  of  justice. 
Gratitude,  which  is  not  usually  associated  with 
royalty,  was  pronounced  in  her. 

No  one,  save  the  Prince  of  Wales,  realised  more 
fully  or  acknowledged  more  frankly  what  the 
monarchy  owed  to  Gladstone,  whose  immense  in- 
fluence had  been  invaluable  to  the  Throne  on  more 
than  one  trying  occasion.  The  Princess  always 
defended  him  loyally  when  she  heard  him  belittled. 
On  his  death  she  wrote  the  following  beautiful 
letter  of  sympathy  to  Mrs.  Gladstone,  which 
Mrs.  Drew  has  recently  made  public  for  the  first 
time  in  her  '  Life '  of  her  mother  : 

Sandringham,  Norfoli^, 
Whit  Sunday,  May  2gth,  1898. 

"  Dearest  Mrs.  Gladstone, 

"I    have    waited   until   now,    when   your 
beloved  husband  has  been  laid  in  his  last  resting- 


A  BEAUTIFUL  LETTER  108 

place,  before  daring  to  intrude  on  the  sacredness 
of  your  sorrow,  which  I  fear  surpasses  all  that 
words  can  express.  My  telegram,  however,  will 
have  told  you  how  my  thoughts  and  prayers 
have  been  constantly  with  and  for  you  ever  since 
the  terrible  news  of  his  fatal  illness  first  reached 
me.  We  are  thankful  to  think  that,  after  all  his 
sufferings,  his  last  few  days  were  peaceful  and 
painless,  and  that  his  longing  and  wish  to  go  to 
his  '  heavenly  home '  were  granted  him  on  the 
very  day  of  Our  Saviour's  Ascension. 

''  It  must  be  some  consolation  to  you  also 
to  feel  how  the  whole  nation  mourns  with  you  and 
yours  the  loss  of  that  great  and  good  man  whose 
name  will  go  down  in  letters  of  gold  to  posterity 
as  one  of  the  most  beautiful,  upright,  and  dis- 
interested characters  that  has  ever  adorned  the 
pages  of  history.  We  all  individually  grieve  the 
loss  of  a  great  personal  friend,  from  whom  we  have 
received  innumerable  kindnesses  which  we  shall 
never  forget.  How  my  whole  heart  went  out  to 
you  during  Saturday's  terrible  ordeal,  when  I  saw 
you  kneeling  by  the  side  of  the  dear  remains  of 
him  whom  you  loved  best  on  earth,  '  the  People's 
William,'  and  your  all. 

*'  I  do  hope  your  health  has  not  suffered,  and 
that  the  cross  our  dear  Lord  has  laid  upon  you  is 
not  more  than  you  can  bear,  and  that  for  your 
dear  children's  sake  you  will  take  the  greatest 
care  of  yourself.  I  was  so  deeply  touched  by  your 
kind  lines  when  you  thought  there  was  a  ray  of 
hope  left,  and  you  may  be  sure  our  visit  to  you 
and  your  beloved  husband  only  one  little  year 
ago,    in   your   own   beautiful   home,    Hawarden, 


104    THE  CHARM  OF  THE  QUEEN 

will  ever  remain  as  one  of  our  most  precious  and 
valued   memories. 

*'  With  deepest  sympathy  with  you  and  your 
children, 

''  Yours  very  affectionately, 

''  Alexandra/' 

This  beautiful  expression  of  sympathy  reflects, 
as  in  a  mirror,  the  emotional  nature  of  the  Queen. 

The  impulsiveness  which  is  generally  charac- 
teristic of  such  natures  is  too  often  a  source 
of  unhappiness.  In  royalty,  the  least  of  whose 
actions  is  subjected  to  the  closest  scrutiny,  this 
quality  is  apt  to  prove  highly  dangerous  to  the 
possessor.  Most  of  the  tragedies  of  royal  lives  can 
be  traced  to  it.  Marie  Antoinette  is  a  notable 
example.  From  the  outset  of  her  career  to  its 
close  she  was  the  victim  of  impulse.  Her  impulsive 
actions  and  words  are  the  milestones  on  her  road 
to  the  guillotine.  At  the  very  start,  the  quite  inno- 
cent impulse  that  prompted  her,  out  of  a  spirit  of 
sheer  joie  de  vivre,  to  laugh  at  the  stupid,  outworn 
etiquette  of  the  Court  injured  her.  Even  those 
who  applauded  and  encouraged  her  under  the 
influence  of  her  fascinating  spell  could  not  fail 
to  perceive,  on  reflection,  that  to  ridicule  etiquette 
was  to  make  those  whose  prerogatives  depended 
on  it  appear  ridiculous.  From  resentment  to 
calumny  is  but  a  step.  Conscious  of  her  own 
rectitude,  the  impulsive  Queen  never  stopped,  in 
her  pursuit  of  pleasure,  to  consider  how  scandal 
might  interpret  her  conduct.  For  her,  placed  as 
she  was,  even  her  friendships  were  indiscretions. 
Jealousy  and  detraction  circled  around  them  like 


IMPULSIVENESS  105 

birds  of  prey  ready  to  tear  her  reputation  to 
pieces.  How  fatal  was  the  indignation  that  urged 
her  to  induce  the  King  to  order  the  arrest  of 
Cardinal  de  Rohan  in  the  presence  of  the  whole 
Court !  After  the  fall  of  the  Bastille  her  impul- 
siveness, as  if  it  were  her  evil  genius,  having 
previously  discredited  her,  prompted  her  to 
commit  one  political  blunder  after  another  till, 
taught  by  the  bitterest  experience  to  mistrust  it, 
she  was  no  longer  able  to  employ  it  when  she 
might  perhaps  have  done  so  with  profit.  Begin- 
ning by  making  her  misunderstood,  this  fatal 
quality  ended  by  making  her  hated.  It  implies  a 
spirit  of  rebelUon,  and  there  is  always  something 
of  an  autocrat  in  a  rebel. 

It  was  to  this  trait  that  the  highly  gifted 
Empress  Frederick,  as  previously  stated,  chiefly 
owed  her  unhappiness.  Very  few,  like  Queen 
Victoria,  who  realised  its  disadvantages,  have 
had  a  will  sufficiently  powerful  to  control  it. 

The  impulsiveness  of  Queen  Alexandra  is  an 
instance  where  the  exception  proves  the  rule. 
In  her  it  was  actually  a  safeguard  to  popularity. 
The  explanation  is  simple.  In  royalty  to  act  on 
impulse  is  always  injurious  when  the  motives  that 
prompt  one  to  do  so,  are,  as  so  often  happens, 
personal  and  selfish.  In  the  case  of  Queen 
Alexandra  her  impulsive  actions  were  characterised 
by  a  complete  absence  of  any  consideration  of 
self.  She  had,  too,  a  curious  intuitive  flair  for 
the  psychological  moment. 

Her  conduct  on  the  death  of  Cecil  Rhodes 
and  at  the  Marathon  Race  are  typical  examples 
of  this. 


10«  THE    CHARM    OF   THE    QUEEN 

The  death  of  Cecil  Rhodes,  occurring  at  a 
time  when  the  antagonisms  he  had  kindled  were 
of  the  bitterest,  had  the  effect  of  a  political 
challenge.  The  spirit  of  faction,  ever  alert  in 
democracy,  inflamed  by  the  indecent  and  futile 
wrangling  of  his  friends  and  foes,  created 
one  of  those  party  quarrels  in  which  all  sense 
of  self-respect  is  temporarily  lost — always  a  dan- 
gerous political  mood.  From  the  fury  of  such 
storms  it  is  the  prudent  custom  of  royalty 
in  England  to  seek  shelter  under  the  generally 
accepted  constitutional  maxim  that  the  Throne 
is  outside  party  politics.  Yet  at  this  moment 
Queen  Alexandra  ventured  into  the  arena,  and, 
regardless  of  consequences,  impulsively  ordered  a 
wreath  to  be  placed  on  the  bier  of  the  dead  man. 

It  was  the  sole  tribute  he  received  from  royalty. 
Had  there  been  others  the  effect  would,  perhaps, 
have  been  to  inflame  popular  passion  still  more. 
Alone,  the  Queen's  wreath  was  a  sort  of  chapeau 
has  !  to  Death,  a  mute  and  timely  reminder  of  a 
power  greater  than  man.  As  a  gesture  it  was 
purely  impersonal,  a  sort  of  impulsive  de  mortuis 
nil  nisi  honum.  And  the  public  recognised  the 
justice  of  the  reproof. 

Equally  characteristic  and  effective  is  the 
Marathon   Race   episode. 

This  event,  the  most  popular  and  spectacular 
of  all  in  the  hst  of  the  Olympian  Games  held  in 
London  in  July  1908,  had  aroused  world-wide 
interest.  As  its  name  implies,  it  was  a  test  of 
endurance.  The  distance  covered  by  the  run- 
ners, from  the  start  at  Windsor  to  the  finish  in 
the   Stadium  in  London,  was   the  same  as  that 


THE   MARATHON  RACE  107 

traversed  by  the  soldier  who  ran  without  stopping 
from  Marathon  to  Athens  with  the  news  of  the 
immortal  victory.  Along  the  whole  twenty-six 
miles  of  the  route  an  immense  number  of  people 
assembled  to  watch  the  competitors  pass.  The 
vast  Stadium  itself  was  packed  to  its  utmost 
capacity,  and  upwards  of  20,000  persons  were 
turned  away.  The  Queen  occupied  the  royal 
box  opposite  the  finish.  No  better  idea  of  the 
intense  interest  that  prevailed  in  the  Stadium 
can  be  given  than  Sir  Arthur  Conan  Doyle's  vivid 
description  of  the  scene. 

After  expatiating  on  the  splendid  appearance 
and  all-round  excellence  of  the  athletes  in  the 
previous  games,  he  wrote  : 

'*  We  were  waiting,  80,000  of  us,  for  the  man  to 
appear — waiting  anxiously.  Through  yonder  arch 
he  must  come.  Every  eye  in  the  great  curved 
bank  of  humanity  is  fixed  upon  the  gap.  He 
must  be  very  near  now,  speeding  down  the  street 
between  the  lines  of  shouting  people.  And  then, 
at  last,  he  comes.  But  how  different  from  the 
exultant  victor  we  expected  !  Out  of  the  dark 
arch-way  there  staggered  a  little  man  with  red 
running-drawers,  a  tiny,  boy-like  creature.  He 
reeled  as  he  entered  and  faced  the  roar  of  applause, 
then  feebly  turned  to  the  left  and  wearily  trotted 
down  the  track.  Friends  and  encouragers  were 
pressing  round  him.  Suddenly  the  whole  group 
stopped.  There  were  wild  gesticulations.  Good 
heavens,  he  has  fainted  I  Is  it  possible,  even  at 
this  last  moment,  the  prize  may  slip  through  his 
fingers  ?  Every  eye  slides  round  to  that  dark 
arch-way.     No   second   man   has   yet    appeared; 


108    THE  CHARM  OF  THE  QUEEN 

Then  a  great  sigh  of  rehef  goes  up.  I  do  not 
think,  in  ail  that  great  assembly,  anyone  would 
have  wished  victory  to  be  torn  at  the  last  instant 
from  this  plucky  little  Italian. 

"  Thank  God,  he  is  on  his  feet  again,  the  little 
red  legs  going  incoherently,  but  drumming  hard, 
driven  by  a  superior  will.  There  is  a  groan  as 
he  falls  once  more  and  a  cheer  as  he  staggers  again 
to  his  feet.  It  is  horrible,  yet  fascinating,  this 
struggle  between  a  set  purpose  and  an  utterly 
exhausted  frame.  Then  again  he  collapsed,  kind 
hands  saving  him  from  a  heavy  fall.  Surely  he 
is  done  now  ?     He  cannot  rise  again. 

"  From  under  the  arch-way  has  entered  the 
second  runner.  Stars  and  Stripes  on  his  breast, 
going  gallantly,  well  within  his  strength.  There 
is  only  twenty  yards  to  do,  if  the  Itahan  can  do 
it.  He  staggers  up,  no  trace  of  inteUigence  on 
his  face.  Will  he  fall  again  ?  No,  he  sways,  he 
balances,  then  is  through  the  rope  into  a  score  of 
friendly  arms.  He  has  gone  the  extreme  of 
human  endurance.  No  Roman  of  the  prime  ever 
bore  himself  better.  The  great  breed  is  not  yet 
extinct. 

''  After  this  all  is  anticlimax.'* 

In  the  excitement  of  the  moment  the  Italian 
flag  was  hoisted  as  a  sign  that  the  Italian  had  won. 
The  fact,  however,  that  he  had  received  assistance 
from  his  too-sympathetic  friends  made  it  impos- 
sible for  the  judges  to  proclaim  him  the  victor. 
The  Italian  flag  was  accordingly  lowered,  and  the 
Stars  and  Stripes  took  its  place. 

"  I  confess,*'  added  Sir  Arthur  Conan  Doyle, 
*'  I  do  not  see  how  the  judges  could  have  come  to 


A  DRAMATIC  INCIDENT  109 

any  other  decision.  It  was,  as  matters  stood, 
a  fair  and  square  win  for  the  American,  since, 
without  help,  Dorando  must  have  lain  senseless 
on  the  track.     And  yet  the  tragedy  remains.'* 

Such,  indeed,  the  vast  majority  of  the  spec- 
tators regarded  it.  On  all  sides  the  final  verdict 
was  received  with  surprise  and  indignation. 
The  very  name  of  the  race  seemed  to  protest. 
As  a  test  of  endurance  it  demanded  not  only 
physical  but  moral  qualities  of  the  highest  order. 
The  runner  from  Marathon  had  dropped  dead  on 
reaching  Athens ;  he  had  just  strength  enough 
left,  before  expiring,  to  announce  the  great  victory. 
It  was  the  spirit  that  sustained  him,  not  the 
actual  running  from  the  field  of  battle,  that  had 
made  the  incident  for  ever  memorable.  In  other 
words,  to  justify  its  name,  a  so-called  ''Marathon 
Race"  in  so-called  *'  Olympic  Games,*'  to  be  won, 
should  be  lost  heroically. 

This  was  powerfully  felt  by  all  in  the  Stadium 
who  witnessed  the  closing  scenes  of  the  race. 
Dorando,  though  he  had  lost,  was  regarded  as  the 
practical  winner.  Queen  Alexandra,  who  had 
displayed  the  liveliest  interest,  was  observed, 
when  the  Italian  flag  was  run  up,  ''  to  beat  a 
tattoo  on  the  floor  of  the  stand  unrestrainedly 
with  her  umbrella.'*  The  general  admiration  felt 
for  Dorando  was  testified  in  many  impulsive  ways. 
As  he  left  the  Stadium  a  woman  in  the  fashionable 
crowd  was  seen  to  unclasp  a  bracelet  from  her 
arm  and  fasten  it  upon  his  wrist,  while  a  working 
man  thrust  a  shilling  into  his  hand. 

The  impulse  of  the  Queen  was  the  most  striking 
of  all.    She  declared  her  intention  of  presenting 


110    THE  CHARM  OF  THE  QUEEN 

him  with  a  cup  in  Heu  of  the  one  he  had  techni- 
cally failed  to  win.  On  the  day  when  the  medals 
and  trophies  were  distributed  she  presented  it 
to  him  with  her  own  hands.  It  bore  the  inscrip- 
tion : 

FOR   PIETRO   DORANDO 
IN   REMEMBRANCE   OF  THE   MARATHON   RACE 
FROM   WINDSOR  TO   THE   STADIUM 
FROM   QUEEN   ALEXANDRA 

The  imagination  of  the  general  public  was  deeply 
impressed  by  this  graceful  and  sympathetic  act. 
As  a  gesture  of  royalty  its  effect  was  electric. 
Throughout  Italy  the  news  was  received  with 
enthusiasm.  In  France  the  Matin  declared  that 
''  the  cup  awarded  to  Dorando  by  the  Queen  is 
not  only  a  consolation — it  is  a  more  glorious  reward 
than  the  first  prize  itself."  In  England,  where 
her  character  was  so  well  known,  it  was  taken 
more  quietly,  but  none  the  less  proudly.  People 
said,  '*  It  was  to  be  expected  of  her.*' 

Even  in  America,  where,  in  the  heat  of  inter- 
national rivalry,  it  was  felt  that  the  American 
competitors  had  been  treated  unfairly  in  other 
contests,  the  act  was  not  resented.  The  New 
York  Tribune  declared  that  ''  Queen  Alexandra's 
thoughtfulness  was  a  matter  of  general  satis- 
faction." While  the  American  Ambassador  in 
Rome,  in  the  name  of  the  American  Olympic 
Committee,  presented  Dorando  with  a  medal  on 
which  a  Marathon  figure  was  inscribed  bearing 
the  flags  of  the  United  States  and  Italy. 

Dorando's    own    impression    of    the    Queen's 


THE   POPULAR  IMPRESSION  111 

impulsive    act   was   recorded   by   the   inevitable 
interviewer. 

*'  When  I  was  called  to  see  Her  Majesty/'  he 
said,  "  I  was  trembling  all  over.  I  felt  as  if 
I  should  fall  as  I  did  on  the  day  of  the  race. 
Then  she  spoke  to  me  very  kindly.  *  Bravo  ! ' 
was  the  only  word  I  could  understand,  but  I 
knew  what  she  meant  by  her  smile.  I  tried  to 
thank  her,  in  Italian,  but  I  could  not.  I  wept. 
This  cup  is  balm  to  my  soul.  I  shall  treasure  it 
to  the  end  of  my  life.'' 


It  was  by  innumerable  such  acts  that  Queen 
Alexandra  became  known  to  the  nation.  Though 
prevented  by  her  lofty  position  and  the  complexi- 
ties of  modern  life  from  coming  into  close  contact 
with  the  people,  as  queens  did  in  the  olden  time, 
her  actions  bridged  the  gulf  that  separated  her 
from  the  masses  and  enabled  her  to  mingle  with 
them  in  spirit,  as  it  were.  The  impression  she 
produced  on  their  simple  and  sentimental  natures 
endured,  because  her  generosity  appealed  to  their 
hearts,  where  the  appeal  is  always  most  powerful, 
rather  than  to  their  minds.  The  result  was  of 
incalculable  value — not  so  much  to  herself,  great 
though  it  was,  as  to  the  idea  of  royalty  which 
she  represented  and  popularised.  And  both  the 
monarchy  and  the  nation  benefited. 


CHAPTER  V 
DOMESTIC  RELATIONS 


I.    BOURGEOIS  CHARACTER  OF  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY — ITS  EFFECT 

ON   ROYALTY DOMESTICITY   OF    ROYAL  LIVES IDYLLIC    HAPPINESS    OF 

QUEEN    victoria's    MARRIAGE ITS    APPEAL    TO    ENGLISH    SENTIMENT 

THE    SECRET    OF    THE    POPULAR    INTEREST    IN    THE    PRINCE    OF    WALES'S 

MARRIAGE.      II.    SERIOUS  ILLNESS   OF  THE   PRINCE VAGUE  UNEASINESS 

OF  THE  PUBLIC — DEVOTED  CONDUCT  OF  THE  PRINCESS — DEEP  IMPRESSION 

IT   PRODUCED — THE    PRINCE    IN    DANGER THE   ALARM    OF    THE   NATION 

EXTRAORDINARY     POPULAR     MANIFESTATION     OF     LOYALTY     TO     THE 

THRONE — THE    SUSPENSE    INCREASES THE    FINAL  CRISIS — THE    PRINCE 

SLEEPS  ! — RELIEF   OF   THE  NATION THANK-OFFERING  OF  THE   PRINCESS 

— THE   NATIONAL   THANKSGIVING HOW    THE    PEOPLE   TESTIFIED    THEIR 

SYMPATHY   WITH   THE   PRINCESS.      III.    PROFOUND   IMPRESSION   CREATED 

BY  THIS  EVENT — PRESS  OPINIONS  IN  FRANCE — IN   ENGLAND ITS  TRUE 

SIGNIFICANCE.      IV.  THE  "  REVERS  DE  M:6dAILLE"  OF  ROYAL  SPLENDOUR 

■ — THE    THRONE-LIGHT — ITS    EFFECT    ON    ROYALTY ROYALTY'S    DESIRE 

FOR  PRIVACY WHY  THE  SINS  OF  ROYALTY  ARE  THE  SINS  OF  DEMOCRACY 

PUBLIC  CENSURE  OF  THE  PRINCE  OF  WALES ITS  HYPOCRISY FOREIGN 

SYMPATHY THE  ELASTICITY  OF  THE  PUBLIC  CONSCIENCE THE  DIGNIFIED 

ATTITUDE    OF    THE    PRINCESS    OF    WALES THE    PRINCE's    RESPECT    AND 

AFFECTION  FOR  HIS  WIFE.      V.    THE  BIRTH   OF  THE  DUKE  OF  CLARENCE 

DEVOTION    OF   THE   PRINCE  AND   PRINCESS   TO   THEIR   CHILDREN THE 

DUKE    OF    clarence's    LOVE    FOR    HIS     MOTHER THE     PATHOS     OF    HIS 

ILLNESS    AND    DEATH PROSTRATION    OF    THE    PRINCESS — WORLD-WIDE 

SYMPATHY  FOR  THE  PRINCESS. 


The  overthrow  of  Feudalism  which  shook  Europe 
to  its  foundations  had  been  accomplished  by 
the  middle  classes.  The  proletarian  Terror  was 
merely  one  of  many  engines  of  destruction.  It 
was  discarded  as  soon  as  it  had  served  the  purpose 
for  which  it  had  been  fashioned.  The  People 
was  not  the  Demos  of  the  masses,  as  the  mob 
fondly  imagined,  but  the  bourgeoisie,  which 
partially  explains  why  royalty  survived  the 
cataclysm. 

112 


A  BOURGEOIS  AGE  113 

As  usual  after  every  struggle,  the  influence  of 
the  conqueror  was  felt  everywhere.  The  nine- 
teenth century  was  essentially  a  bourgeois  age. 
Its  two  great  ideals — home  and  respectability — 
up  to  which  it  endeavoured  to  live,  were  bourgeois 
both  in  their  conception  and  expression.  It 
accumulated  wealth  and  spent  it  in  true  bourgeois 
fashion.  It  loved  and  sinned  and  worshipped 
God  in  the  same  way.  It  made  religion  a  sort 
of  moral  police  force  to  maintain  law  and  order, 
and  compelled  criticism  to  act  in  a  similar 
capacity  towards  morality  and  liberty.  An 
army  of  ''  Philistines "  was  ever  at  hand  to 
crush  sedition.  ''  To  startle  the  bourgeois,''  as 
Baudelaire  expressed  it,  was  a  crime  equivalent 
to  Ihe-majeste.  Nothing  escaped  the  impress 
of  the  bourgeois  seal.  From  the  conscience  of 
the  proletariat  to  the  manners  of  the  aristocracy, 
the  triumph  of  the  bourgeois  was  visible  every- 
where. 

Least  of  all  did  royalty,  with  *'  its  capacity  to 
adapt  itself  to  time,  place,  and  circumstance,'' 
fail  to  respond  to  this  dominant  influence.  Pre- 
cisely as  it  had  formerly  been  en-Versaille,  as 
the  father  of  Mirabeau  pungently  put  it,  so  now 
it  was  en-bourgeoise.  Louis  Philippe  styled 
himself  the  ''  Citizen  King,''  and  lived  like  a 
bon  bourgeois.  Princess  Christian's  manner  of 
life  was  by  no  means  unique.  Domesticity — a 
bourgeois  virtue — was  the  rule  rather  than  the 
exception  of  royal  lives. 

In  the  great  drama  in  which,  as  was  aptly 
said,  '*  the  French  Revolution  played  Perseus  to 
Royalty's  Andromeda,"  the  barriers  that  had 
3 


114  DOMESTIC    RELATIONS 

been  erected  between  kings  and  their  families 
were  destroyed.  In  the  dangers  and  humihations 
through  which  both  had  passed  they  had  dis- 
covered that  their  interests  were  identical.  The 
muddied  spring  of  human  affection  had  been 
clarified.  The  desire  for  domesticity  which  had 
been  awakened  in  the  heart  of  royalty  had 
all  the  force  of  a  constitutional  principle.  In 
England,  Queen  Victoria's  idyll  established  a 
precedent. 

The  marriage,  which  had  been  arranged  for 
her  by  her  uncle,  Leopold  I  of  Belgium,  resulted 
in  a  union  that  realised  the  highest  ideal  of  which 
matrimony  is  capable.  She  always  regarded  the 
period  between  her  accession  and  her  marriage 
as  the  *'  least  sensible  and  satisfactory  time  in 
her  whole  life.''  Prince  Albert  came  to  England 
with  his  brother  in  the  hope  she  would  choose  one 
or  the  other.  Within  four  days  she  had  conceived 
a  deep  and  overpowering  affection  for  him,  which 
he  returned,  and,  taking  advantage  of  her  royal 
station,  the  young  Queen  proposed  and  was 
accepted. 

'*  It  was  a  nervous  thing  to  do,"  she  told  her 
aunt,  the  Duchess  of  Gloucester;  '*  but  it  would 
have  been  impossible  for  him  to  propose  to  the 
Queen  of  England.  He  would  never  have  pre- 
sumed to  take  such  a  liberty." 

The  position  of  a  Prince  Consort  is  an  em- 
barrassing one.  Prince  Albert's  German  birth 
made  his  doubly  so.  To  atone  for  the  slights 
to  which  the  public  ungraciously  and  unreason- 
ably subjected  him,  the  Queen  would  have  shared 
her  throne  with  him  had  it  been  possible.     She 


POPULAR   SENTIMENT  116 

did  nothing  without  his  advice  and  sanction, 
and  compelled  all  her  ministers  to  consult  him. 
If  he  left  her,  were  it  only  for  a  few  days,  she  counted 
the  hours  till  his  return.  Once,  when  he  fell 
through  the  ice  skating  at  Windsor,  she  risked  her 
life  to  save  him.  Alive,  all  her  happiness  was 
centred  on  him.  Dead,  his  memory  became  a 
cult. 

It  was  an  age  of  exaggerated  sentimentality. 
The  revival  of  romanticism  in  literature,  poetry, 
and  art  was  world-wide.  In  the  extravagant  bliss 
and  despair  of  Queen  Victoria's  life  its  emotional 
influence  was  paramount.  Thus  the  picture 
of  royal  domesticity  revealed  by  the  throne-light 
satisfied  every  requisite  of  the  prevailing  senti- 
mental and  puritan  conception  of  life. 

The  nation  was  accordingly  greatly  gratified 
by  the  promise  of  a  second  marriage  so  happy 
and  prosperous  as  Queen  Victoria's.  The  official 
announcement  that  the  marriage  of  the  Heir  to 
the  Throne  was  based  entirely  on  mutual  affec- 
tion appealed  powerfully  to  popular  sentiment. 
The  popular  conception  of  '*  mutual  affection " 
in  the  nineteenth  century  was  that  of  a  fairy-tale. 
The  Prince  of  Wales  was  reported  to  have  fallen 
in  love  with  the  photograph  of  the  Princess 
before  seeing  the  original.  The  report  was  readily 
believed,  and  the  amiable  fiction  long  served  to 
explain  the  happy  life  of  the  royal  pair. 

The  world  at  large  naturally  wonders  how  royal 
marriages  come  about,  since,  it  is  assumed,  that 
where  there  are  so  little  choice  and  so  few  oppor- 
tunities people  can  really  know  little  of  one 
another. 


116  DOMESTIC    RELATIONS 

Royalty,  no  doubt,  is  as  capable  of  a  deep  and  en- 
during love  as  the  humblest  human  being.  Indeed 
it  was  the  opinion  of  so  experienced  an  authority 
as  Madame  de  Genlis  that ''  love  in  a  palace,  where 
it  is  surrounded  with  obstacles  and  beset  with  in- 
trigues, burns  with  a  far  brighter  flame  than  in  a 
cottage  or  in  solitude/'  But  a  royal  love  is  a  very 
different  thing  from  a  royal  love-match.  Queen 
Victoria's  is  a  thing  apart.  Her  passion  for  the 
Prince  Consort  will  ever  be  remembered  as  one 
of  the  great  loves  of  history. 

In  the  case  of  the  Prince  of  Wales  and  his 
bride,  fiction  paid  homage  to  fact.  Certainly 
without  the  ''  warm  liking  of  the  young  people 
for  one  another,"  of  which  the  Prince  Consort 
wrote  to  Stockmar,  their  marriage  could  hardly 
have  taken  place.  This,  fortunately,  was  based 
on  something  more  lasting  and  serious  than  a 
passion  for  a  photograph. 

No  marriage  was  ever  less  a  lottery.  The 
greatest  credit  is  due  to  the  discernment  of  those 
who  arranged  it.  The  disposition  and  character 
of  the  bride  were  admirably  fitted  for  the  wear 
and  tear  of  married  life.  As  a  wife  she  fulfilled 
all  that  the  nation  demanded  of  her  and  all  that 
her  husband  desired.  A  model  of  fidelity  and 
virtue,  she  was  too  indulgent  to  be  exacting,  and 
too  discreet  to  make  impossible  demands.  Her 
amiability  could  always  be  relied  on,  and  her 
dignity  saved  her  from  humiliation.  She  was 
too  sure  of  herself,  too  conscious  of  the  signifi- 
cance and  superiority  of  her  position,  and  of  her 
husband's  appreciation  of  its  importance,  to 
doubt  her  ability  to  keep  his  regard. 


ILLNESS   OF  THE  PRINCE   OF  WALES     117 

Sickness  and  trouble  are  the  true  tests  of  devo- 
tion. Tried  by  these,  it  will  be  perceived  that  the 
bond  that  united  Edward  VII  and  Alexandra 
during  the  forty-seven  years  of  their  married  life 
was  no  transient  affection,  no  passing  youthful 
fancy. 

II 

On  the  22nd  of  November,  1871,  it  was  reported 
in  the  Press  that  the  Prince  of  Wales  had  been 
prevented  from  paying  his  proposed  visit  to  the 
Maharajah  Dhuleep  Singh  by  a  chill,  resulting 
in  a  febrile  attack  which  confined  him  to  his  room 
at  Sandringham.  This  was  the  beginning  of  an 
illness  which,  by  reason  of  the  extraordinary 
effect  it  produced  on  the  nation,  has  become 
historical. 

On  the  24th  the  public  were  informed  that  the 
Prince  was  suffering  from  typhoid  fever.  The 
disease  was  supposed  to  have  been  contracted 
during  a  visit  the  Prince  and  Princess  had  paid 
early  in  November  to  the  Earl  and  Countess  of 
Londesborough  at  Londesborough  Lodge,  Scar- 
borough. Lord  Chesterfield,  one  of  the  guests, 
and  the  Prince's  servant,  Blagge,  were  likewise 
similarly  stricken. 

At  first  the  bulletins  issued  by  the  three  doctors 
in  attendance — Gull,  Lowe,  and  Jenner — ^were 
favourable.  The  malady  appeared  to  follow  a 
normal  course  ;  the  fever  was  high,  but  the  pa- 
tient's strength  was  well  maintained.  For  several 
days  the  bulletins  were  the  same.  On  the  27th 
it  was  reported  that  the  royal  children  had 
been  removed  to  Windsor  to  avoid  the  danger 


118  DOMESTIC    RELATIONS 

of  infection.  This  was  regarded  as  so  natural 
that  it  occasioned  no  comment.  Nor  did  the  news 
that  Queen  Victoria  had  gone  to  Sandringham 
to  see  her  son  appear  at  all  alarming,  since  she 
returned  the  same  day  to  Windsor,  which  she 
would  not  have  done  had  his  condition  been  grave. 
The  public  were  also  reassured  by  the  announce- 
ment that  he  was  being  nursed  by  his  wife  and 
his  sister,  Princess  Alice.  The  latter  was  known 
to  be  an  experienced  nurse,  while  the  devotion  of 
the  Princess  of  Wales  was  regarded  as  fitting  her 
for  the  part  she  had  assumed. 

The  death  of  Lord  Chesterfield  on  the  ist  of 
December,  and  the  simultaneous  report  that 
*'  Blagge  was  very  low,''  apprised  the  public, 
for  the  first  time,  of  the  gravity  of  the  Prince's 
condition.  But  the  bulletins  continued  to  be 
encouraging,  and,  as  no  sign  of  alarm  was  visible 
at  either  Sandringham  or  Windsor,  the  public 
apprehension  was  allayed.  Nevertheless,  an  under- 
current of  anxiety  was  perceptible  in  the  Press, 
and  the  movements  of  the  various  members  of 
the  Royal  Family  were  watched  by  the  nation 
with  a  new  and  peculiar  interest.  All  eyes  were 
fixed  on  Windsor,  as  if  it  were  some  mystic  shell, 
on  the  egress  and  ingress  of  the  royal  being  within 
which  the  national  welfare  in  some  strange  way 
depended.  The  figure  of  the  lonely,  grief-stricken 
Queen  seemed  suddenly  to  have  acquired  a  signi- 
ficance hitherto  unsuspected. 

To  a  people  like  the  English,  with  exalted 
conceptions  of  duty,  the  example  of  devotion  set 
by  the  wife  of  the  Heir  to  the  Throne  was  par- 
ticularly gratifying; 


THE   PRINCESS'S   PRAYER  119 

The  nation  liked  to  feel  that  the  Prince  had,  as 
the  papers  told  it,  ''a  tower  of  strength  in  the 
amiable  and  beautiful  Princess  who  had  given 
him,  in  the  fullness  of  its  perfection,  that  happi- 
ness of  domestic  life  which  it  prized  as  the  very 
foundation  of  the  national  virtue/* 

It  was  with  difficulty  that  she  could  be  induced 
to  quit  his  side  even  for  short  intervals.  Once 
only  during  this  period  of  trial  did  she  leave  the 
house,  and  then  only  for  the  purpose  of  attending 
church.  Unaffectedly  and  sincerely  religious,  she 
had  a  firm  belief  in  the  efficacy  of  prayer.  On 
the  1st  of  December  the  Prince,  who  had  been 
delirious,  suddenly  asked  what  day  it  was,  and, 
on  being  told,  said :  *'  Then  it  is  the  Princess's 
birthday."  Taking  this  flash  of  intelligence  as  a 
sign  of  improvement,  she  wrote  the  following 
characteristic  letter  to  the  Rector  of  Sandringham  : 

''  My  husband  being,  thank  God,  somewhat 
better,  I  am  coming  to  church.  I  must  leave 
before  the  service  closes  so  that  I  may  watch 
beside  his  bedside.  Can  you  not  say  a  few  words 
in  prayer  in  the  early  part  of  the  service  that  I 
may  join  with  you  in  prayer  for  my  husband 
before  I  return  to  him  ?  '' 

This  pathetic  appeal,  which  the  Rector  ven- 
tured to  communicate  to  the  Press,  produced 
a  deep  impression  on  the  public.  From  the 
expressions  of  sympathy  it  elicited  it  was  evident 
that  ''  the  republicans  had  misread  the  feeling 
of  the  nation.'* 

On  the  6th  London  was  startled  by  wild 
rumours.  The  Prince  was  comatose.  The 
Princess  had  abandoned  hope.    The  Queen  and 


120  DOMESTIC    RELATIONS 

Royal  Family  had  been  telegraphed  for.  The 
impossibility  of  verifying  them  increased  the 
agitation  they  created.  It  was  felt  that  the 
bulletins,  which  were  very  carefully  worded, 
concealed  the  truth.  The  bald  statement  that 
"  the  fever  is  high,  but  the  Prince's  strength  is 
maintained  '*  had  an  ominous  ring. 

On  the  7th  the  agitation  spread  throughout  the 
country.  The  news  that  the  Queen  had  gone 
again  to  Sandringham  still  further  increased  the 
anxiety,  which  became  intense  when  the  public 
were  informed  that  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury 
had  ordered  special  prayers  for  the  Prince's 
recovery  to  be  offered  in  the  churches. 

The  dread  of  the  nation  was  aggravated  by 
many  personal  grounds  of  sorrow.  The  per- 
sonal danger  of  the  Prince  was  paramount  in  the 
thoughts  of  all.  The  telegrams  received  from 
various  towns  testified  to  the  universal  and  ab- 
sorbing sympathy  with  which  all  classes  watched 
the  alternate  ebb  and  flow  of  so  precious  a  life. 

The  impression  produced  by  the  bulletins  of  the 
I ith  was  that  of  some  overwhelming  disaster .  The 
doctors  no  longer  concealed  their  anxiety.  The 
Prince  had  passed  through  one  crisis,  but  would 
he  survive  another  ?  Leading  articles  in  the 
Press  reflected  the  grief  and  consternation  of  the 
people.  The  lamentation  of  the  Morning  Post 
was  characteristic  of  the  general  tone. 

''  The  heir  of  Egbert  and  Alfred,"  it  wailed, 
*'  of  the  Edwards  and  the  Henries  is  lying  in  the 
Valley  of  the  Shadow  of  Death  !  " 

When  the  history  of  this  period  comes  to  be 
written  the  historian  of  England  will  surely  pause 


THE  INFECTION  OF  LOYALTY  121 

to  describe  with  emphasis  the  crisis  through 
which  the  whole  English  people  passed  during 
the  middle  of  December  1871.  It  was  as  if,  with 
the  Prince,  the  nation  itself  was  expiring. 

Meetings  were  held  all  over  the  country  at 
which  resolutions  were  passed  expressing  the 
devotion  of  the  people  for  the  Throne.  No  village 
was  too  small  to  utter  its  prayer  or  to  testify 
its  affection.  The  profound  attachment  of  the 
nation  to  the  Sovereign  and  her  children,  the 
intense  interest  felt  by  all  in  everything  that 
concerned  her  happmess  and  theirs,  was  revealed 
daily  during  this  illness  of  the  Prince  of  Wales 
to  a  degree  that  surprised  even  those  who  were 
most  convinced  of  the  loyalty  of  the  people  of 
England  to  the  Throne. 

Many  earnest-minded  persons  found  a  certain 
consolation  in  reflecting  that  such  great  distress 
compelled  the  nation  to  feel  how  close  were  the 
ties  which  united  it ;  that  the  people  were,  after 
all,  one  national  family ;  that  the  Throne  and  the 
cottage  were  bound  together  by  living  sympathies 
and  regards ;  and  that  thus,  amid  the  realities 
of  adversity,  each  would  learn  to  take  a  more 
serious,  because  more  truthful  and  affectionate, 
view  of  their  mutual  relations. 

To  remain  unmoved  by  the  spectacle  of  such 
anxiety  was  impossible.  All  classes,  all  creeds, 
all  parties  caught  the  infection  of  loyalty.  The 
Nonconformist  Conference  which  was  about  to 
be  held  at  Manchester,  and  to  which  great 
political  importance  had  been  attached,  was 
indefinitely  postponed  *'  because  profound  sym- 
pathy with  the  Queen  and  the  Princess  of  Wales 


122  DOMESTIC    RELATIONS 

in  their  great  sorrow  demands  a  suspension  of 
any  political  struggle." 

More  significant  still  was  the  attitude  of  the 
various  republican  clubs  in  London,  whose  mem- 
bers united  to  send  a  resolution  of  sympathy 
to  the  Queen.  In  the  whole  course  of  her  reign 
Queen  Victoria  received  no  more  striking  token  of 
loyalty  than  from  these  republicans,  who,  ''  while 
not  concealing  our  decided  preference  for  a 
republican  over  a  monarchical  form  of  govern- 
ment *' — so  their  curious  document  ran — ''  yet 
desire,  as  Englishmen,  to  record  our  sorrow  for 
the  serious  illness  and  protracted  suffering  of  the 
Prince  of  Wales,  and  our  heartfelt  sympathy  with 
the  Queen  and  the  members  of  the  Royal  Family 
under  their  present  deep  affliction;  and  we  also 
desire  to  express  our  sincere  hope  that  the  life  of 
the  Prince  of  Wales  may  yet  be  spared.'' 

The  same  hope,  fortified  by  prayer,  was  ex- 
pressed, too,  by  people  all  over  the  world.  In 
Bombay  the  Parsees  burnt  sacred  fire  in  their 
temples  for  his  recovery.  In  Palestine,  at  the 
instigation  of  Sir  Moses  Montefiore,  the  Jews  in  the 
Holy  City  offered  up  their  prayers  to  the  Almighty 
on  his  behalf.  From  New  York  Cyrus  W.  Field, 
a  prominent  citizen,  sent  the  following  telegram 
to  the  British  Government  :  *'  Fulton  Street 
prayer-meeting  and  other  praying  assemblies  in 
America  unite  with  the  Queen  and  people  of 
England  in  daily  supplications  to  Almighty  God 
for  the  life  and  salvation  of  the  Prince  of  Wales.'* 
The  sick-bed  at  Sandringham  riveted  the  attention 
of  mankind. 
The   suspense   increased   with    every   bulletin; 


THE   FINAL   CRISIS  123 

"  Death/'  as  one  paper  expressed  it,  **  appeared 
to  play  with  its  royal  captive  as  a  young  panther 
with  its  victim.  Again  and  again  he  struggled 
to  free  himself  from  its  clutch,  only  to  be  drawn 
back,  stifling  and  helpless,  as  if  for  the  final 
sacrifice/* 

On  the  13th  it  was  announced  that  the  life 
of  the  Prince  hung  by  a  thread.  All  hope  was 
abandoned  even  by  the  most  sanguine.  Yet  all 
through  the  night  an  immense  multitude  waited 
in  the  rain  outside  Marlborough  House  for  the 
bulletins  to  appear.  In  King's  Lynn  it  was  with 
difficulty  that  they  could  be  posted  up,  so  great 
was  the  anxiety  to  know  what  news  they  con- 
tained. *'  Read  it,  mon,  read  it,  and  post  it 
up  arter  !  ''  roared  a  policeman  when  one  was 
brought  out. 

To  the  14th  superstition  gave  a  peculiar  dread. 
As  if  to  add  to  their  gloomy  apprehensions,  the 
people  were  reminded  that  the  14th  was  the  tenth 
anniversary  of  the  death  of  the  Prince  Consort. 
In  itself  there  was  nothing  in  this  fact  to  cause 
apprehension.  It  was  riiorbid,  even  irrational, 
to  suppose  there  could  be  any  connection  between 
the  course  of  the  Prince's  illness  and  the  acci- 
dental recurrence  of  a  particular  anniversary. 
All  the  same,  the  least  superstitious  admitted 
that  they  would  experience  an  unusual  sense  of 
relief  if  it  was  announced  at  the  close  of  the  day 
that  the  Prince  had  passed  through  it  without 
change. 

It  was  indeed  the  final  crisis.  '*  No  change,*' 
announced  the  bulletins  throughout  the  day. 
The   last,    which    appeared    after   midnight,    re- 


124  DOMESTIC    RELATIONS 

kindled  hope.  "  The  Prince/'  it  stated,  *'  is 
passing  the  night  quietly."  At  Marlborough 
House  a  ringing  cheer  burst  from  the  weary, 
waiting  crowd,  and  people,  as  they  dispersed, 
joyfully  exclaimed  to  all  they  met,  '*  Saved !  The 
Prince  sleeps  !  ** 

It  was  his  servant,  Blagge,  who  died. 

In  Sandringham  church  there  is  a  brass  eagle 
lectern  presented  by  the  Princess  of  Wales.  On 
it  is  inscribed,  eloquent  in  its  significance  of  the 
trial  through  which  she  had  passed  : 

TO   THE   GLORY   OF   GOD, 

A  THANKOFFERING   FOR   HIS   MERCY. 

I4TH    DECEMBER,    187I,    ALEXANDRA. 

"  When  I  was  in  trouble  I  called  upon  the  Lord,   and  He 
heard  me." 


On  the  27th  of  the  following  February  Queen 
Victoria,  accompanied  by  all  the  Royal  Family, 
drove  in  state  to  St.  Paul's  to  offer  up  ''  a  solemn 
Thanksgiving  to  Almighty  God  for  the  recovery 
of  the  Prince  of  Wales.''  For  weeks  beforehand 
the  newspapers  all  over  the  kingdom  discussed 
this  event  with  as  much  interest  as  they  had 
formerly  displayed  anxiety  over  the  illness  of  the 
Prince.     It  was,  in  fact,  the  last  act  of  the  drama. 

The  great  Cathedral  was  packed  to  its  utmost 
capacity.  Many  thousands  of  applications  for 
seats,  it  is  said,  were  refused  for  lack  of  space. 
The  ceremony  was  the  grandest  and  most  impres- 
sive ever  held  in  England  till  then.  The  solemnity 
of  the  occasion,  enhanced  by  the  almost  miraculous 


THE   NATIONAL   THANKSGIVING         125 

recovery  of  the  Prince,  produced  a  feeling  of  awe 
in  the  vast  assembly.  At  the  sight  of  the 
Queen  as  she  advanced  up  the  nave  with  the 
Prince  of  Wales  on  her  right,  holding  his  eldest 
son  by  the  hand,  while  the  Princess,  leading  the 
younger,  walked  on  her  left  ''  with  pensive  grace 
and  looking  beautiful  in  her  dark  blue  velvet 
robe,"  few  could  restrain  their  tears. 

But,  if  the  spectacle  in  St.  Paul's  was  impres- 
sive, it  did  not  compare  in  significance  with  that 
which  the  London  streets  presented.  If  there 
were  thousands  inside  St.  Paul's,  there  were  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  ranged  along  the  route  of  the 
royal  procession,  which  was  seven  miles  in  length. 
The  day  had  been  made  a  special  Bank  Holiday. 
Immense  sums  had  been  spent  on  decorating  the 
streets  and  on  the  illuminations  at  night. 

As  a  show,  the  procession  was  not  much.  San- 
ger's Circus,  which  followed  it  through  the  streets 
an  hour  or  two  later,  exhibiting  a  real  British 
lion,  the  most  magnificent  gilt  cars  imaginable, 
and  a  dexterous  circus-rider  who  rode  two  piebald 
horses  at  the  same  time  and  drove  five  before  him, 
was  much  more  showy.  The  real  interest  was 
in  the  vast  mass  of  human  beings  through  whom 
the  procession  passed.  From  this  point  of  view 
nothing  could  be  a  more  brilliant  success. 

Though  the  Queen  and  the  Prince  aroused  the 
liveliest  curiosity,  it  was  **  the  wife  and  Princess 
dear  to  the  people "  who  received  the  greatest 
ovation. 

A  cynic  would  have  said,  and  probably  a  great 
many  did,  that  London  was  going  mad.  The 
truth  was,  however,  the  mass  of  the  people  still 


126  DOMESTIC    RELATIONS 

regarded  the  Throne  as  the  most  national  thing 
in  the  nation,  possessed  of  powers  which  they  did 
not  give. 

The  thought  uppermost  in  the  minds  of  the 
masses  was  expressed  simply  on  many  an  arch 
and  banner. 

On  one  was  inscribed  . 

"  Well  hast  thou  done  a  good  wife's  part  " 

On  another: 

"  To  God,  who  spared  his  life. 
To  Jenner,  Gull,  and  Lowe, 
And  to  the  Princess  wife 
Our  gratitude  we  owe." 

She  had  proved  her  capacity  as  nurse  as  well 
as  her  devotion  as  wife.  The  Queen  herself  attri- 
buted the  Prince's  recovery  to  the  careful  nursing 
he  had  received. 

**  Had  my  Prince  had  the  same  treatment  as 
the  Prince  of  Wales/'  she  remarked  sadly,  ''  he 
might  not  have  died.'* 

Ill 

Abroad,  where  people  had  been  led  to  believe 
that  Queen  Victoria  would  be  the  last  sovereign 
of  England,  the  extraordinary  demonstrations 
of  loyalty  displayed  during  the  illness  of  the 
Prince  of  Wales  made  a  very  deep  impression. 
After  witnessing  such  scenes  it  was  impossible  for 
foreigners  to  refrain  from  admiring  the  English 
people,  their  political  good  sense  and  wonderful 
organisation  which  preserved  them  from  violent 


OLD   ENGLAND  127 

revolutions.  It  was,  accordingly,  regarded  as 
proving  ''  how  deeply  rooted  is  the  monarchical 
faith  in  that  great  nation  which,  notwithstanding 
the  adaptation  of  its  mind  and  energy  to  modern 
circumstances,  always  remains  at  bottom  Old 
England/' 

As  a  spectacle  of  complete  national  unity  it 
most  certainly  deserved  the  admiration  it  aroused. 
The  French  Press,  in  particular,  was  eloquent  on 
the  lesson  to  be  learnt  from  it. 

**  This  England,''  exclaimed  one  journal,  ''  which 
we  were  told  was  ready  to  become  a  Republic, 
which  was  accused  of  despising  its  Princes, 
and,  having  got  rid  of  all  its  old-fashioned  ideas 
of  loyalty — come  and  see  it  to-day,  note  its  grief, 
and  be  instructed  1 

*'  What  a  spectacle  !     What  a  lesson  1 

'*  The  Prince  of  Wales  is  dying,  and  yet  upon 
the  other  side  of  the  Channel  no  one  laughs. 
The  Princess  of  Wales  quits  the  bedside  of  the 
dying  man,  not  to  seek  necessary  repose,  but  to 
hasten  to  the  church  to  pray  and  to  listen  to  prayer 
— and  no  one  laughs.  The  Queen,  whom  calumny 
sought  to  wound  but  the  other  day,  kneels  with 
her  veil  of  widowhood  beside  the  probable  death- 
bed of  her  first-born — and  no  one  laughs.  The 
Council— Gladstone,  the  Lord  President,  the  Lord 
Chancellor,  all  whom  England  holds  in  the 
highest  esteem  for  talent,  or  position,  or  age — 
which  is  also  a  dignity — address  themselves  to 
the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  and  call  upon 
him  to  prepare  new  forms  of  prayer  to  appeal  to 
the  Almighty  on  behalf  of  His  Royal  Highness 
the  Prince  of  Wales.     And  the  people,  instead 


128  DOMESTIC    RELATIONS 

of  mocking,  rush  to  obtain  copies  of  these  prayers 
and  repeat  them  in  their  places  of  worship. 
Lutherans,  Calvinists,  Methodists,  Anghcans, 
CathoHcs,  Jews,  all  implore  the  Deity  to  prolong 
the  days  of  the  future  Sovereign  of  England. 
The  people  have  the  courage,  the  good  sense  not 
to  disown  either  their  history,  their  Government, 
or  their  God,  and  yet  they  are  a  free  people 
among  all — who  will  dispute  that  ? 

*'  Such  a  spectacle  affects  us  Frenchmen  greatly, 
and  we  look  around  us  with  bitterness.  In  vain, 
alas  1  do  we  look  for  one  of  those  powerful  bonds 
of  union  upon  which  we  might  rely  in  a  moment 
of  trial.  When  shall  we  learn  to  pray  altogether 
for  anyone  ?  " 

The  French  Ambassador  in  London,  the  Due 
de  Broglie,  was  so  affected  by  the  spectacle  of 
such  loyalty  and  unity  that  he  publicly  compared 
the  revolutions  through  which  France  had  been 
struggling  for  eighty  years  with  the  orderly 
government  of  England,  which  since  1689  had 
never  once  seen  its  laws  violated  by  the  caprice 
of  the  Sovereign  or  the  revolt  of  the  people. 
**  A  comparison,**  commented  the  Journal  des 
Debats  bitterly  and  justly,  *'in  which  the  factions 
which  pretend  to  have  a  monopoly  of  France 
for  their  mutual  advantage  may  find  their  own 
condemnation." 

Nor  was  England  itself  less  impressed  by  its 
own  loyalty  than  foreign  nations,  upon  whom  it 
had  the  effect  of  still  further  increasing  British 
prestige. 

The  anxiety  through  which  the  whole  country 
had  passed  could  not  have  been  greater  had  peace 


THE  EXPLANATION  14fl 

Or  war  been  hanging  in  the  balance.  All,  for 
once,  had  formed  a  common  wish.  '*  Even  the 
awkward  squad  of  republicans,''  as  was  sneer- 
ingly  said,  **  had  caught  the  infection  of  loyalty, 
and  with  a  protest  asked  to  mutter  a  prayer.'* 
There  was  much  more  than  the  mere  quickening 
of  a  personal  interest  in  all  this.  To  regard  it 
only  as  a  visible  proof  of  the  rooted  affection  with 
which  Englishmen  cling  to  their  ancient  mon- 
archy was,  as  so  often  happens,  to  confound  the 
effect  with  the  cause.  There  were  many  for 
whom  the  astonishing  scenes  they  had  witnessed 
had  a  far  deeper  significance. 

What  was  it,  thoughtful  people  asked  them- 
selves, which,  even  in  the  presence  of  the  eternal 
realities,  subordinated  every  thought  to  the 
temporal  issue  of  a  life-and-death  struggle  on  a 
single  sick-bed  in  Norfolk  ?  Why  were  churches 
and  ministers  of  all  sects  and  denominations 
watching  for  every  change  of  symptom,  which 
of  itself  might  have  seemed  of  passing  import 
compared  with  the  stupendous  truths  it  was  their 
more  pressing  duty  to  recall  ? 

All  who  could  think  and  feel  were  driven  to 
consider  what  they  were  losing.  When  men  lose 
anything,  they  lose,  not  so  much  the  thing  itself,  as 
what  they  wish  and  hope  it  to  be.  The  Prince,  as 
conceived  by  the  nation,  was  a  national  ideal,  an 
old  tradition,  a  creation  of  fond  hopes.  In  losing 
him  there  was  a  vague  consciousness  of  public 
danger.  It  was  as  if  the  highest  branch  of  the 
great  ancestral  tree  of  the  people  was  about  to  be 
broken  off. 

Though  forms  and  circumstances  have  altered, 
9 


130  DOMESTIC    RELATIONS 

there  is,  after  all,  no  more  influential,  more  natural, 
or  more  sacred  relation  than  that  which  subsists 
between  the  head  of  a  great  nation  and  those 
whose  interests  are  entrusted  to  him.  Whether 
he  would  or  not,  the  Prince  of  Wales  held  towards 
all  an  intimate  relationship  which  it  is  certain  no 
one  else  could  claim  to  have  established.  It 
had  grown  in  the  long  years  out  of  the  nature 
implanted  in  the  people.  It  was  the  sense  of 
this  reality  which  had  risen  to  the  surface,  as  it 
always  does  at  such  moments  as  the  present. 
The  Prince  of  Wales  was  valued  for  himself,  it  is 
true ;  but  he  was  valued  for  more  than  that.  It 
was  not  mere  selfishness  that  made  the  people 
feel  that  they  were  threatened  with  a  wound  to 
their  national  existence. 

In  other  words,  the  real  explanation  of  this 
phenomenon — for  such  it  was — is  to  be  found  in 
the  ineradicable  desire  for  protection  and  security 
inherent  in  man,  from  which  the  idea  of  royalty 
originated  in  the  remotest  antiquity.  This  idea, 
though  changed  in  the  evolution  of  human  society 
out  of  all  resemblance  to  its  original  conception, 
remains  fundamentally  the  same.  As  time  is  to 
eternity,  so  is  this  idea  to  the  desire  from  which 
it  springs.  Man  being  what  he  is,  the  one  follows 
naturally,  irresistibly  from  the  other.  The  con- 
nection between  the  two  is  too  metaphysical  to 
be  apparent,  save  in  times  when,  for  some  reason 
or  other,  the  desire  for  protection  is  felt  as  a 
fear  or  compelling  necessity.  In  this  desire  is  to 
be  found  the  secret  of  the  rise  to  power  of  every 
superman,  whether  he  be  hereditary,  elected,  or 
self-imposed.    It  explains  the  origin  and  over- 


THRONE-LIGHT  181 

throw  of  every  system  of  government.     Despotism 
and  liberty  are  alike  born  of  it. 


IV 

In  considering  the  lives  of  royal  personages  it 
is  not  by  the  publicity  in  which  they  are  passed, 
but  by  the  desire  for  privacy  which  this  publicity 
stimulates,  that  they  are  to  be  judged. 

In  royalty,  where  its  gratification  is  of  necessity 
often  impossible,  and  always  extremely  difficult, 
this  desire  is  particularly  strong.  It  is  the  fly 
in  the  ointment  of  privilege,  so  to  speak,  the  revers 
de  medaille  of  royal  splendour.  Even  Louis  XIV, 
that  exemplar  of  kingly  magnificence,  with  his 
Draconian  conception  of  the  laws  of  etiquette, 
wearied  in  the  end  of  perpetual  publicity.  The 
need  he  felt  of  some  retreat  to  which  he  could 
withdraw  from  the  fierce  rays  of  the  light  that 
beats  upon  a  throne  explains  how  he  came  to 
marry  secretly  a  woman  of  fifty,  three  years  older 
than  himself  and  the  governess  of  his  children. 
Madame  de  Maintenon  knew  how  to  regulate  the 
throne-light  to  perfection. 

The  desire  to  escape  from  the  ferret-gaze  of  the 
world  was  one  of  the  reasons  that  induced  the 
disillusioned  Charles  V  to  end  his  days  in  a  monk's 
cell  at  San  Justo.  It  was  the  secret  of  the  charm 
of  Marie  Antoinette's  life  at  the  Little  Trianon. 
It  suggested,  too,  the  petits  soupers  in  the  petits  ap- 
partements  to  the  Regent  d' Orleans  and  Louis  XV. 
This  passion  for  privacy  has  assumed  many  forms, 
but  all  have  been  equally  ineffectual,  for  royalty 
can  no  more  escape  from  the  throne-light  than  a 


132  DOMESTIC    RELATIONS 

man  from  his  shadow.      The  vie  privee  of  princes 
is  either  a  pubHc  scandal  or  a  public  blessing. 

In  former  times  it  was  possible  for  royalty  to 
regulate  the  throne-light  to  a  certain  extent.  Now 
even  this  consolation  is  denied  it.  Demo 
cracy  is  no  respecter  of  privacy,  either  in  princes 
or  private  persons.  To-day  it  is  the  people  who 
have  control  of  the  meter. 

It  was  considered  not  only  natural,  but  salu- 
tary, that  all  which  threw  light  on  the  morals  of 
the  Court  should  be  jealously  watched  and  keenly 
scrutinised.  The  opinion  that  the  life  of  the 
Royal  Family  was  a  public  one  had  been  so  often 
expressed  that  it  had  come  to  have  the  force  of 
an  unwritten  law,  which  was  subsequently  con- 
firmed on  the  Bench  itself  by  the  Lord  Chief 
Justice. 

**  The  Prince  of  Wales,*'  he  said,  ''  cannot  be  a 
private  man  if  he  wishes.  The  Queen  cannot 
live  the  life  of  a  private  woman  if  she  wishes.'' 

In  theory  this  was  to  deprive  royalty  not  only 
of  the  right  to  privacy,  but  to  prescribe  for  it 
special  and  fixed  rules  of  conduct  as  rigorous  as 
if  the  obligation  to  conform  to  them  was  set 
down  in  some  constitutional  pact,  and  which,  if 
obeyed,  would  atrophy  it  as  completely  as  the 
etiquette  of  the  pre-revolutionary  era. 

In  practice,  however,  this  politico-moral  code 
for  the  regulation  of  royal  lives  proved  impos- 
sible of  application.  Its  injustice,  rather  than 
its  severity,  defeated  its  purpose.  As  it  is  a 
fundamental  principle  of  British  democracy  that 
there  is  but  one  law  for  all,  so  there  can  be  but 
one  moral  standard  for  all.    The  rules  devised  for 


A   CAUSE   CELEBRE  188 

the  conduct  of  royalty,  to  be  capable  of  enforce- 
ment, must  apply  equally  to  the  conduct  of  the 
nation  generally,  unless  democracy  is  to  stultify 
itself  in  the  eyes  of  the  people. 

An  example,  humanly  considered,  cannot  be 
other  than  a  reflection.  All  men,  regarded  as 
examples,  are  mirrors.  Democracy's  ideal  man 
is  a  magic  mirror  reflecting  a  people  idealised  by 
his  example.  Unfortunately  such  men  are  rare — 
in  antiquity  they  were  regarded  as  gods.  Demo- 
cracy's substitutes  possess  merely  the  power  to 
reflect  men  as  they  are.  If  these  substitutes 
are  royal  personages  they  magnify  what  they 
reflect  by  reason  of  the  peculiar  reflective  quality 
of  royalty.  The  sins  of  royalty  are  the  exact 
counterpart  of  the  sins  of  democracy. 

The  celebrated  Baccarat  Case,  with  which  the 
Heir  to  the  Throne  was  accidentally  associated, 
in  lifting  the  veil  from  the  private  life  of  the 
Prince  of  Wales,  exposed  the  baseness  of  the 
public  standard.  The  fullness  with  which  it  was 
reported  corresponded  exactly  to  the  public 
interest  in  it.  The  light  thrown  on  this  cause 
celebre,  as  well  as  upon  all  similar  ones,  revealed 
something  much  more  disagreeable  than  the 
failings  of  a  certain  section  of  society.  From  the 
point  of  view  of  strict  morality,  the  real  evil  lay, 
not  in  the  failure  of  an  Heir  to  a  Throne  to  be 
the  ideal  example  of  democracy,  but  in  the 
scabrous  interest  the  public  took  in  the  case. 

Nor  was  the  indignation  of  the  more  austere, 
expressed  in  pulpits  and  Parliament,  any  more 
moral.  The  former  was  pharisaical,  the  latter 
political. 


184  DOMESTIC    RELATIONS 

In  reality  it  was  public  opinion  that  stood 
condemned  before  its  own  bar. 

The  Prince  of  Wales,  writing  to  the  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury,  attributed  the  attacks  to  which 
he  was  subjected  to  politics,  and  complained 
bitterly  of  their  injustice.  Abroad,  opinion  was 
entirely  on  his  side.  The  French  thought  he 
might  well  be  allowed  to  complain  of  the  injustice 
which  not  only  forbade  any  right  to  privacy, 
but  enjoined  on  him  a  line  of  conduct  that  was 
not  equally  binding  on  his  subjects.  In  America, 
where  opinion  was  extremely  sympathetic,  it 
was  felt  that  he  had  been  made  ''a  scape-goat 
of  to  appease  a  guilty  public  conscience  and 
to  furnish  material  for  a  conscienceless  gutter 
press.*' 

If  democracy,  in  this  attempt  to  deprive 
royalty  of  the  power  to  gratify  the  desire  for 
privacy,  really  sought  a  scape-goat  it  was  shrewd 
enough,  on  second  thoughts,  to  recognise  the 
futility.  Instead  of  breaking  its  "  mirror,''  it 
made  excuses  for  its  unflattering  reflection. 

It  was  asserted  in  the  pulpit  that  ''  a  tendency 
to  idealism  finds  a  side-door  for  blunders  at  every 
step,"  and  on  political  platforms  Radical  speakers 
were  heard  agreeing  with  Ernest  Renan  that  the 
cause  of  Democracy  which  they  championed  often 
leads  to  results  the  exact  opposite  to  those  which 
they  wish  to  obtain. 

The  tone  of  the  press  too  proved  how  little  it 
had  really  been  influenced  by  the  ''morality"  it 
had  professed  to  uphold. 

The  Manchester  Guardian,  which  has  always  had 
the  well-merited  reputation  of  expressing  the  sober 


EXPEDIENCY  OF  PUBLIC  OPINION      185 

and  considered  views  of  the  nation,  observed 
that,  if  the  Constitution  took  care  that  the 
Sovereign  should  be  of  the  right  faith  it  made 
no  stipulation  as  to  his  morals.  It  considered 
that,  as  the  nation  had  accepted  the  hereditary 
principle,  it  must  accept  its  risks,  and  was  almost 
bound  to  accept  the  person  who  turns  up  in  the 
course  of  nature  and  make  the  most  of  him.  There 
was  no  means  of  securing  morality.  The  best 
kings  morally  had  frequently  been  the  worst 
politically.  The  fact  was,  the  double  blessing 
of  such  a  sovereign  as  Queen  Victoria  had  spoilt 
the  people  for  a  successor. 

This  eminently  respectable  organ  of  Liberal 
opinion  argued  that  it  was  unnecessary  to  ques- 
tion the  manner  in  which  an  Heir  Apparent  dis- 
posed of  his  leisure,  for  princes  had  as  much  right 
to  Hberty  of  action  as  peasants. 

Such  a  volte-face  justifies  the  cynicism  of  La 
Rochefoucauld.  Its  expediency  appealed  to  the 
public  with  whose  elastic  morals  it  was  fully  in 
keeping. 

It  appealed  also  to  the  Princess,  though  for  very 
different  reasons.  Living  in  the  throne-light  her- 
self, she  knew  how  it  magnified  and  distorted  al 
it  illuminated.  Excuses  came  easier  to  her  than 
complaints.  Brought  up  as  she  had  been,  mar- 
riage meant  something  more  to  her  than  a  mere 
legal  formality.  She  interpreted  her  marriage 
vows  literally.  For  her,  all  the  duties  of  wife- 
hood were  contained  in  the  words  ''for  better  or 
worse."  The  fact,  too,  that  she  was  something 
more  than  a  wife  heightened  their  importance. 
She  never  forgot  that  she  was  the  consort  of  the 


186  DOMESTIC    RELATIONS 

Heir  to  the  Throne,  and  as  such  had  to  maintain 
the  dignity  of  her  position. 

This,  indeed,  her  husband  rendered  easy  for 
her.  The  Prince  of  Wales  always  insisted  on 
being  treated  with  the  respect  due  to  his  rank. 
Fully  alive  as  he  was  to  the  importance  of  his 
exalted  station,  he  could  not  fail  to  be  sensible 
of  the  lustre  his  wife  added  to  it.  He  liked  her 
to  be  seen  at  his  side,  and  to  have  her  name 
identified  with  his.  She  could  always  be  relied 
upon  to  stand  by  him  at  a  critical  juncture,  and 
the  universal  respect  and  affection  she  inspired 
were  in  themselves  a  protection. 

He  knew  her  worth  too  well  not  to  value  it. 
Her  dignity  was,  above  everything,  precious  to 
him.  A  woman  whom  he  had  once  distinguished 
by  his  regard  was  disgraced  by  being  so  indiscreet 
as  to  inquire  how  his  "  wife  "  was.  To  him  she 
was  always  the  ''  Princess ''  or  the  '*  Queen.'' 

He  was  very  proud  of  her  beauty,  and  nothing 
pleased  him  more  than  to  hear  it  extolled.  He 
Uked,  too,  to  express  his  own  admiration  of  her 
to  others.  An  instance  of  this,  which  occurred 
at  a  ball  at  Marlborough  House  some  years  after 
their  marriage,  is  related  by  the  wife  of  a  distin- 
guished ambassador  who  was  present.  ''  It  was 
a  small  dance,"  she  wrote,  '*  only  about  three 
hundred.  The  Princess  wore  a  dress  of  many 
shaded  soft  reds,  and  in  her  hair  were  red  holly- 
hocks with  one  large  diamond  in  the  heart  of 
each.  Observing  that  I  was  looking  at  her  with 
unfeigned  admiration,  the  Prince  of  Wales  said 
to  me, '  This  is  quite  an  exceptional  occasion.  We 
jbtaye  asked  all  the  prettiest  and  best-looking  womm 


THE   BIRTH  OF  AN  HEIR  137 

we  know;  there  is  not  a  single  plain  one,  but/ 
he  added  with  a  pleased  smile,  '  the  Princess  is 
the  most  beautiful  of  all/  '' 


Their  affection  for  their  children  was  an  inflex- 
ible bond  of  union  and  sympathy.  In  common 
with  royalty  generally  since  the  French  Revo- 
lution, both  had  the  family  instinct  highly  de- 
veloped. The  Prince,  for  all  his  love  of  pleasure, 
was  essentially  a  family  man.  He  was  passion- 
ately fond  of  his  children.  Through  them  the 
Princess  always  retained  his  affection,  and  in 
her  quiet,  unobtrusive  way  exerted  a  powerful 
influence  over  him. 

Their  first  child  was  born  on  the  8th  of  January, 
1864,  at  Frogmore,  a  house  in  Windsor  Park, 
where  they  spent  the  greater  part  of  the  winter 
after  their  marriage.  This  event,  which  was  not 
expected  till  two  months  later,  occurred  under 
rather  remarkable  circumstances.  On  the  day 
in  question  there  was  a  hockey  match  on  the  ice 
at  Virginia  Water,  which  had  recently  frozen. 
The  Prince,  who  was  one  of  the  players,  had 
provided  an  elaborate  lunch,  to  which  a  large 
number  of  people  were  invited.  The  day  was 
fine,  and  the  scene  was  one  of  great  animation. 
The  Princess,  apparently  in  the  best  of  health, 
arrived  at  eleven  and  remained  until  four  in  the 
afternoon,  being  occasionally  drawn  about  the 
ice  on  a  sledge.  Shortly  after  her  return  to 
Frogmore,  however,  she  became  suddenly  indis- 
posed. When  the  Prince  arrived  an  hour  later  he 
found  her  jji  travail^  and  the  bou^eboM  in  a  state 


138  DOMESTIC    RELATIONS 

of  the  greatest  confusion.  As  preparations  had 
been  made  for  the  accouchement  to  take  place  at 
Marlborough  House,  nothing  was  in  readiness  for 
the  event.  A  physician  was  hastily  summoned 
from  Windsor,  and  ''a  Dr.  Brown,  a  general 
practitioner  of  considerable  local  repute,''  had 
the  honour  of  bringing  the  babe  into  the  world. 
He  was  assisted  by  the  Countess  of  Macclesfield, 
the  Princess's  lady-in-waiting,  who  wrapped  the 
child  in  one  of  her  own  garments.  A  Court  doctor 
arrived  shortly  afterwards,  but  the  nurses  did 
not  reach  Frogmore  till  two  in  the  morning. 

The  announcement  of  the  birth  of  a  son  and 
heir  to  the  Prince  of  Wales  was  received  with  great 
popular  rejoicing  throughout  the  country,  and 
the  pomp  with  which  he  was  christened  in  St. 
George's  Chapel  indicated  the  dynastic  impor- 
tance that  attached  to  his  birth.  Until  his 
coming  of  age,  when  Queen  Victoria  created  him 
Duke  of  Clarence  and  Avondale,  he  was  known 
to  the  British  public  simply  as  Prince  Albert 
Victor. 

The  Prince  and  Princess  of  Wales  had  after- 
wards five  other  children:  Prince  George  (King 
George  V)  born  in  1865,  and  the  Princesses 
Louise,  Victoria,  and  Maud,  born  respectively  in 
1867,  1868,  and  1869.  Prince  Alexander  John, 
who  was  born  in  1872,  lived  only  two  days. 

The  qualities  that  made  the  Princess  of  Wales 
so  admirable  as  a  wife  were  equally  conspicuous 
ia  the  mother.  Though  prevented  by  the  exact- 
ing duties  of  her  position  from  nursing  her  chil- 
dren, as  she  greatly  desired,  they  received  her 
unremitting  attention.     She  selected  their  nurses 


A   DEVOTED   MOTHER  139 

personally  and  attached  them  to  her  by  many 
marks  of  kindness. 

As  an  instance  of  this  Madame  Jerichau,  a 
Danish  artist  who  had  been  commissioned  to 
paint  her  portrait  shortly  after  the  birth  of  the 
Duke  of  Clarence,  tells  the  following  story  : 

"The  little  Prince  Albert  Victor  had,  as  wet 
nurse,  a  handsome  young  Irish  woman  of  robust 
health.  Some  time  after  entering  on  her  duties, 
however,  she  suddenly  began  to  decline  without 
any  visible  reason.  The  doctors  who  examined 
her  were  quite  unable  to  detect  the  cause,  nor 
could  she  herself  offer  any  suggestion.  The 
Princess's  maternal  instinct,  however,  solved  the 
riddle.  She  inquired  the  whereabouts  of  the 
nurse's  own  infant,  sent  for  it,  and  suddenly 
placed  it  in  its  mother's  arms.  The  effect  was 
instantaneous.  The  mother's  joy  at  seeing  her 
child  again  was  so  great  that  she  recovered  at 
once.  The  child  remained  about  a  week  at 
Marlborough  House  and  shared  the  life  of  the 
little  Prince." 

Though  living,  as  she  was  compelled,  in  a 
perpetual  whirl  of  movement  and  excitement, 
the  Princess  always  contrived  to  find  time  to 
look  after  her  young  children. 

''  She  was  in  her  glory,"  relates  Mrs.  Blackburn, 
the  head  nurse,  '*  when  she  could  run  up  to  the 
nursery,  put  on  a  flannel  apron,  wash  the  children 
herself,  and  see  them  asleep  in  their  little  beds." 

She  taught  them  to  obey  their  nurses,  and  de- 
sired, in  return,  that  they  should  be  treated  with 
as  little  ceremony  as  possible.  As  soon  as  they 
had  learned  to  read  and  write  they  were  provided 


140  DOMESTIC    RELATIONS 

with  German  and  French  governesses  to  fami- 
liarise them  with  those  languages,  which  it  is 
essential  that  children  in  their  station  should 
acquire. 

Family  unity  was  the  ideal  at  which  she  aimed 
in  their  upbringing.  This  she  sought  to  achieve 
by  love — the  only  sure  way.  Especially  did  she 
encourage  her  children  to  return  the  affection  of 
their  father,  whose  parental  pride  in  them  was 
such  that  he  invariably  sent  for  them  to  show 
them  to  all  who  visited  him  without  any  ceremony. 
Every  year,  on  his  birthday,  she  composed  a  little 
verse  for  each  to  recite  to  him  in  honour  of  it — a 
touching  incident  that  proves  the  purity  of  their 
home  life. 

On  the  Duke  of  Clarence  the  fondest  hopes  of 
both  parents  were  centred.  This  was  but  natural ; 
he  was  the  eldest  son,  the  heir — a  fact  of  supreme 
importance  to  royalty.  The  most  striking  and 
most  generally  known  feature  of  his  character  was 
his  affection  for  his  beautiful  mother,  whom  he 
closely  resembled.  She  was  ever  in  his  thoughts, 
and  in  conversation  he  constantly  reverted  to 
her.  He  liked  at  Sandringham  to  go  for  long 
walks  with  her,  his  arm  in  hers  or  round  her  waist. 
At  Cambridge  he  was  never  so  happy  as  when 
she  came  to  see  him. 

'*  Mamma  is  so  nice,"  he  said  to  his  tutor  once. 
''  She  is  fond  of  everything  I  like.  There  is  no- 
body like  mamma.'' 

Though  scarcely  known  to  the  general  public, 
his  death  from  influenza,  on  the  14th  of  January, 
1892,  was  the  occasion  of  another  of  those  remark- 
able popular  demonstrations  of    loyalty  to  the 


»      »    4»    »    ,     ,, 


Photo,  W.  &  D.  Downey. 

que;e;n  ai^exandra  and  her  chii^dren. 


DEATH  OF  THE  DUKE   OF  CLARENCE     141 

Throne  which,  in  spite  of  the  Radical  tendencies 
of  the  age,  were  so  curiously  characteristic  of  the 
people. 

During  his  brief  illness  scenes  similar  to  those 
which  attended  his  father's  twenty  years  previously 
were  repeated.  In  the  present  instance  their 
cause  was  more  apparent.  The  wave  of  Repub- 
licanism, so  pronounced  in  the  earlier  years  of 
Queen  Victoria's  reign,  had  spent  itself.  Her 
long  and  glorious  rule  had  given  a  fresh  and 
special  lustre  to  the  monarchical  principle.  The 
Royal  Family  had  somehow  come  to  symbolise 
the  unity  of  the  British  Empire.  The  entente 
between  the  Throne  and  the  people  was  perfect 
and  sympathetic.  There  was,  moreover,  a  per- 
sonal element  in  the  unexpected  death  of  the 
young  Prince,  stricken  at  the  outset  of  his  career, 
and  on  the  eve  of  his  marriage,  which  profoundly 
stirred  the  heart  of  the  public. 

Gladstone  said  that  the  nation  had  experienced 
no  shock  equal  to  it  in  the  whole  course  of  his 
life.  He  compared  it  to  that  caused  by  the  uni- 
versally lamented  death  of  the  popular  Princess 
Charlotte,  George  IV's  only  child,  and  heir  to  the 
Throne,  which  had  occurred  seventy-six  years  be- 
fore, and  which  he  could  recollect. 

The  death  of  his  beloved  son  was  the  first  real 
sorrow  that  the  Prince  of  Wales,  so  favoured  by 
fortune,  had  ever  known.  He  felt  it  deeply, 
and  gave  vent  to  his  grief  unrestrainedly.  '*  When 
the  end  came,"  said  one  who  was  present,  "  the 
Prince  bowed  his  head  in  his  hands  and  sobbed 
aloud,  but  the  Princess  looked  as  if  she  was  turned 
to  marble." 


142  DOMESTIC    RELATIONS 

The  calm  demeanour  with  which  she  had  watched 
the  Hfe  of  her  idoHsed  son  ebbing  away  filled  the 
attendants  with  amazement.  All  thought  of  self 
was  lost  in  her  anxiety  to  minister  to  his  last 
hours,  and  with  that  wonderful  self-restraint 
that  invariably  characterised  her  in  great  crises, 
she  suppressed  all  semblance  of  grief  lest  it  should 
trouble  the  peaceful  passing  of  her  child. 

In  this  dark  hour  religion  was  her  only  support. 
A  sermon  preached  by  Canon  Fleming  in  Sandring- 
ham  church  ten  days  after  the  death  of  the  Duke 
of  Clarence  afforded  the  Princess  so  much  comfort 
that  she  requested  him  to  publish  it  and  distribute 
the  proceeds  between  the  Gordon  Boys'  Home,  in 
which  the  Duke  had  taken  a  special  interest,  and 
the  Home  for  Incurables  at  Streatham,  the  first 
institution  of  which  she  was  patroness.  Accord- 
ing to  Canon  Fleming  the  circulation  of  this  little 
book,  entitled  Recognition  in  Eternity,  unprece- 
dented in  the  sale  of  a  single  sermon,  was  due 
entirely  to  the  following  incident  which  the  Prin- 
cess herself  related  to  the  Canon,  and  which, 
but  for  the  fact  that  at  his  request  she  permitted 
him  to  print  it  on  the  first  page  of  the  book, 
would  be  almost  too  sacred  to  publish. 

*'  Shortly  before  Eddy's  death,"  she  said,  "  he 
was  lying  as  if  in  a  sleep.  Suddenly  he  raised 
himself  up  from  his  pillow,  and,  looking  round  the 
room,  said  twice,  '  Who's  that  calling  me? — who's 
that  calling  me  ?  '  I  gently  said,  *  It  is  Jesus 
calling  you,'  and  I  hope  he  heard  me." 

As  Canon  Fleming  justly  says,  **  I  ask,  could 
any  mother,  when  her  mother's  heart  was  well- 
nigh   breaking,    have   given   her   dying   boy   an 


"SIMPLY  TO  THY  CROSS  I  CLING"     143 

answer  more  tender,  more  beautiful,  more  Christ- 
like ? 

**  Then  she  added,''  he  continues  : 

"  *  In  1888  all  my  five  children  received  the 
Holy  Communion  with  me,  and  I  gave  Eddy  a 
little  book  and  wrote  in  it : 

"  Nothing  in  my  hand  I  bring, 
Simply  to  Thy  cross  I  cling/* 

and  also  : 

**  Just  as  I  am,  without  one  plea. 
But  that  Thy  blood  was  shed  for  me, 
O  Lamb  of  God,  I  come." 

'' '  When  he  was  gone,  and  lay  like  one  sleeping, 
we  laid  a  cross  of  flowers  on  his  breast,  and  after 
we  had  done  so  I  turned  to  the  table  at  his  bed- 
side, and  saw  the  little  book  in  which  were  written 
these  words,  and  I  could  not  help  feeling  that  he 
did  cling  to  the  cross,  and  that  it  had  all  come 
true/  '' 

She  would  have  buried  him  in  the  little  church 
at  Sandringham,  but  it  was  imperative  that  he 
should  be  interred  in  the  royal  vault  at  Windsor. 
Each  night  before  the  coffin  was  removed  she 
spent  some  time  in  prayer  beside  it.  After  the 
funeral  she  wrote  to  her  mother  :  *'  I  have  buried 
my  angel  to-day,  and  with  him  my  happiness." 

Many  months  elapsed  before  she  was  seen  in 
public  again.  But  she  never  forgot.  There  is  a 
volume  of  meaning  in  a  little  brass  plate  facing  the 
worshipper  in  the  royal  pew  at  Sandringham 
church.     It  bears  the  poignant  inscription  : 

**  This  place  was  occupied  for  twenty-eight  years 


144  DOMESTIC   RELATIONS 

by  my  darling  Eddy,  next  to  his  ever-loving  and 
sorrowing  mother." 

The  strength  of  the  domestic  affection  revealed 
by  this  crushing  blow  evoked  universal  sympathy 
and  admiration.  The  American  Press  generally 
was  eloquent  on  the  subject.  In  describing  the 
death  of  the  Duke  of  Clarence,  and  the  grief  it 
caused  his  parents,  it  said  : 

''  The  domestic  traditions  were  followed  just 
as  faithfully  at  Marlborough  House  as  at  Windsor. 
The  Prince  of  Wales's  has  been  not  merely  a  good 
but  a  devoted  family,  if  ever  there  was  one. 
The  Princess,  whose  whole  life  has  been  beautiful, 
is  in  nothing  more  beautiful  than  in  her  love  for 
her  children.*' 

In  the  fierce  light  that  beats  upon  a  throne 
nothing  shines  so  brightly  as  the  virtue  of  royalty. 
Like  the  sun,  it  radiates  far  and  wide,  seen  of 
all  the  world. 


CHAPTER    VI 

THE  QUEEN  AND  STATE  AFFAIRS 

I.    DEATH     OF     FREDERICK     VII ACCESSION     OF     CHRISTIAN     IX HIS 

DIFFICULT  POSITION A  FATEFUL  HOUR  IN  DANISH  HISTORY BISMARCK's 

ULTIMATUM ITS  REJECTION  BY  THE  DANES BRITISH  SYMPATHY THE 

"  ALEXANDRA    CENT    GARDES  " INTERCESSION     OF    THE    PRINCESS    OF 

WALES THE  PRINCE's  ENCOURAGEMENT QUEEN  VICTORIA'S  OPPOSITION 

ITS  JUSTIFICATION BRITISH  GOVERNMENT'S  ATTEMPT  AT  MEDIATION 

ITS  FAILURE HUMILIATION  OF  DENMARK.      II.    BITTER  DISILLUSIONMENT 

OF  THE  PRINCESS THE  PRINCE's  SYMPATHY HIS  DESIRE  TO  TAKE  THE 

PRINCESS  TO  DENMARK THE  OBJECTIONS  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT — QUEEN 

VICTORIA   GI\':ES   her   CONSENT THE   PRINCESS'S   JOY  AT   THE   WARMTH 

OF    HER    RECEPTION POPULARITY    OF    THE    PRINCE    IN    DENMARK THE 

SIGNIFICANCE    OF    THE    VISIT.       III.    POLITICAL    IMPORTANCE    OF    ROYAL 

MARRIAGES THE  USE  THE  BRITISH  GOVERNMENT  MADE  OF  THE  DANISH 

CONNECTION HOW  THE  BROTHER  OF  THE  PRINCESS  OF  WALES  BECAME 

KING  OF  GREECE THE  ATTITUDE  OF  RUSSIA.  IV.  THE  FAMILY  AFFEC- 
TIONS OF  THE  GLUCKSBURGS  AS  A  FACTOR  TO  BE  RECKONED  WITH  IN 
EUROPEAN  POLITICS THE  CHILDREN  OF  CHRISTIAN  IX  AND  THE  IMPOR- 
TANCE  OF   THEIR   MARRIAGES THEIR   ANNUAL   REUNIONS   IN   DENMARK 

THE  STRENGTH   OF  THEIR  FAMILY  AFFECTIONS THE  FASCINATION  OF 

THE  EMPRESS  MARIE THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE  ANGLO-RUSSIAN  ALLIANCE — • 

THE     DEATH     OF     ALEXANDER     III DESPAIR     OF     THE     EMPRESS THE 

DEVOTION  OF  THE  PRINCESS  OF  WALES THE  INFLUENCE  OF  THE  EMPRESS 

OVER    HER    SON,    NICHOLAS    II THE    ISOLATION    OF    THE    CZARINA THE 

BIRTH   OF  THE  CZAREVITCH — THE  STRUGGLE  FOR  SUPREMACY  BETWEEN 

THE  EMPRESS  AND  THE  CZARINA ITS  TRAGIC   ENDING THE  POLITICAL 

VALUE  OF  THE  EMPRESS'S  AFFECTION  FOR  HER  SISTER — ITS  ADVANTAGE 
TO   ENGLAND. 


The  peace  that  followed  the  first  Schleswig  War 
was  a  turbulent  one  for  Denmark.  If  the  suc- 
cession was  settled,  the  more  intricate  problem 
of  the  status  of  Schleswig-Holstein  continued 
unsolved.  Squabbles  between  Denmark  and  the 
Duchies,  in  which  Germany  took  part,  were 
endless. 

In   1863    HaU,   the   Liberal    Danish   Minister, 

10  145 


146     THE    QUEEN   AND    STATE    AFFAIRS 

proposed  to  cut  the  Gordian  knot  by  detaching 
Holstein,  which,  however,  was  still  to  recognise 
the  titular  sovereignty  of  the  King,  while  Schles- 
wig  remained,  as  before,  united  to  Denmark. 
The  bill  was  passed  by  both  Chambers  of  the 
Danish  Parliament.  Two  days  later  Frederick  VII 
died  suddenly  (13th  of  November,  1863)  before 
the  bill  had  received  his  signature. 

It  is  said  that  the  Princess  of  Wales  was  in 
the  hunting  field  when  informed  that  her  father 
had  become  King  of  Denmark,  and,  on  hearing 
the  news,  clapped  her  hands  for  joy. 

To  Christian  IX,  however,  the  occasion  was 
anything  but  one  for  rejoicing.  His  accession 
placed  him  in  an  extraordinarily  difficult  position. 
The  bill  which  awaited  his  signature  invalidated 
the  Protocol  to  which  alone  he  owed  his  throne. 
If  he  signed  it  Germany  declared  that  she  would 
refuse  to  recognise  him,  while,  if  he  yielded  to  this 
threat,  the  Danes  demanded  his  abdication.  The 
question  of  the  succession  and  the  whole  inter- 
minable Schleswig-Holstein  question  were  thus 
once  more  reopened  in  a  most  acute  form.  Chris- 
tian hesitated  for  three  days,  and  then,  under 
pressure,  followed  the  line  of  least  apparent  re- 
sistance, and  signed.  It  was  a  fateful  hour  in 
Danish  history. 

The  son  of  the  old  Duke  of  Augustenburg,  who 
had  renounced  his  claims  to  the  Duchies  in  1852 
for  a  money  compensation,  refused  to  be  bound 
by  his  father's  bargain.  Encouraged  by  Germany, 
he  at  once  proclaimed  himself  Duke  of  Schleswig- 
Holstein,  and  was  received  with  acclamation  by 
the  people,  who  believed  his  claim  was  based  on 


DENMARK  ATTACKED  147 

justice  and  right.  At  the  same  time  Bismarck 
demanded  the  withdrawal  of  the  bill  within  forty- 
eight  hours,  and,  to  enforce  this  demand,  an 
army  of  Prussians  and  Austrians  entered  Hoist ein. 
The  Danes,  counting  on  the  armed  intervention 
of  England,  France,  and  Russia,  guaranteed  by 
the  treaty  of  1852,  determined  to  resist.  The 
victorious  issue  of  the  First  Schleswig  War  had 
bred  over-confidence.  Anyone  who  ventured  to 
suggest  caution  was  denounced  as  a  coward  or 
traitor.  Unable  to  defend  Holstein,  the  Danish 
army,  40,000  strong,  entrenched  itself  in  Schleswig. 

But  treaties  are  merely  temporary  expedients. 
Such  moral  force  as  they  possess  is  based  on 
fluctuating  national  interest.  Russia,  which  had 
not  yet  recovered  from  the  Crimean  War,  drew 
back  at  the  start.  France  appeared  cynically 
indifferent.  She  even  secretly  sought  to  obtain 
from  Germany  ''  advantages  on  the  Rhine  "  as 
the  price  of  her  neutrality.  England  alone  mani- 
fested an  inclination  to  respect  the  treaty.  The 
British  Government  offered  to  discuss  the  question 
at  a  conference  in  London.  The  proposal  was 
rejected  by  Prussia,  and  the  Second  Schleswig 
War  began. 

It  goes  without  saying  that  the  daughter  of 
Christian  IX  could  not  remain  an  idle  spectator 
of  the  struggle.  The  Danes,  who,  with  this  very 
contingency  in  view,  had  regarded  her  marriage 
to  the  Prince  of  Wales  with  so  much  satisfaction, 
now  counted  on  her  to  obtain  the  aid  of  England. 
In  this  they  were  encouraged  by  the  loudly 
expressed  popular  sympathy  with  their  cause 
which  had  been  aroused  here  by  the  sight  of  a 


148     THE    QUEEN    AND    STATE    AFFAIRS 

small  country  being  bullied  by  two  large  ones. 
Meetings  were  held  all  over  England  to  urge  the 
Government  to  take  action.  The  great  popu- 
larity of  the  Princess  served  still  further  to 
strengthen  the  agitation  in  favour  of  armed 
intervention. 

The  general  opinion  on  the  situation  was 
amusingly  expressed  by  the  following  lines  which 
appeared  in  Punch  the  week  after  the  birth  of 
the  Duke  of  Clarence  : 

NURSERY  SONG  FOR  THE  NEW  BABY 

O  slumber,  my  darling,  thy  sire  is  a  Prince 
Whom  Mamma  beheld  skating  not  five  hours  since. 
And  Grandpapa  Christian  is  off  to  the  fray 
With  Germans,  who'd  steal  his  nice  duchy  away. 

But  slumber,  my  darling,  the  English  are  true, 
And  they'll  help  him  for  love  of  Mamma  and  of  you. 
And  the  Channel  Fleet's  coming  with  powder  and  shot 
And  the  Germans  must  run,  or  they'll  catch  it  all  hot.^ 

In  Ireland  ''  lOO  Irish  volunteers  of  good  family  " 
formed  themselves  into  a  corps  known  as  the 
**  Alexandra  Cent  Gardes  *'  for  service  in  Den- 
mark. They  were  commanded  by  *'  a  gentleman 
of  Cork  noted  for  his  success  in  the  hunting 
field.''  As  an  instance  of  the  electric  state  of 
public  opinion  at  the  time,  this  chivalrous  gesture 
of  a  by-gone  age  failed  to  excite  ridicule.  For 
reasons  of  State,  however,  the  ''  Alexandra  Cent 
Gardes ''  were  not  permitted  to  leave  Ireland. 

To  induce  the  British  Government  to  come  to 
the  assistance  of  Denmark,  the  Princess  strained 
every  nerve.     In  this  she  received  staunch  sup- 

^  January  i6,  1864. 


QUEEN  VICTORIA'S  NEUTRALITY        149 

port  from  her  husband.  The  Prince  of  Wales 
quite  openly  expressed  his  sympathy  for  Denmark, 
and  gave  free  vent  to  his  indignation  at  the  failure 
of  the  Powers  to  support  the  Danes  as  they  had 
undertaken  to  do  by  the  terms  of  the  London 
Protocol  of  1852.  He  refused  to  allow  the  Austrian 
Ambassador  to  meet  the  Princess,  and,  to  empha- 
sise his  contempt,  told  the  French  Ambassador 
very  significantly  what  he  thought  of  the  pusil- 
lanimous conduct  of  his  Government.  In  his 
opinion  the  Danes  were  right  to  resist.  *'  They 
are  a  brave  people,''  he  said,  "  who  prefer  death 
to  any  kind  of  humiliation." 

The  chief  obstacle  to  a  war  on  behalf  of  Denmark 
with  Prussia  and  Austria,  to  which  the  country 
seemed  to  be  drifting,  was  Queen  Victoria.  She 
was  resolved  on  neutrality,  and  there  was  no 
length  to  which  she  was  not  prepared  to  go 
to  maintain  it.  The  conduct  of  the  Prince  of 
Wales  greatly  annoyed  her,  and  it  only  served  to 
strengthen  her  determination  to  deny  him  any 
participation  in  the  affairs  of  State.  As  for  the 
Princess,  the  Queen  warned  her  of  the  danger  of 
attempting  to  seek  to  influence  the  policy  of  the 
Government.  To  silence  all  further  opposition 
in  her  family,  she  refused  to  allow  the  subject  of 
Schleswig-Holstein  to  be  mentioned  in  her  presence. 

With  the  Government  she  was  equally  firm. 
The  threat  of  Palmerston  to  the  Austrian  Ambas- 
sador, that  ''  if  the  Austrian  fleet  went  to  the 
Baltic  it  would  have  to  reckon  with  the  British 
Navy,''  filled  her  with  the  deepest  indignation. 
When  expressions  were  introduced  into  the  Queen's 
Speech  on  the  Opening  of  Parliament  which  she 


150     THE    QUEEN    AND    STATE    AFFAIRS 

considered  would  commit  England  to  war,  she 
insisted  on  their  removal,  and  even  threatened 
to  dissolve  Parliament  if  it  did  not  adopt  a  con- 
ciliating and  neutral  policy. 

This  attitude,  so  vehemently  opposed  to  that 
of  the  mass  of  her  subjects,  exposed  the  Queen 
to  much  bitter  censure.  It  was  attributed,  not 
unnaturally,  to  her  well-known  German  sym- 
pathies. In  reality  they  were  German  only  in 
so  far  as  she  favoured  the  claim  of  the  Duke 
of  Augustenburg,  which  the  Duchies  upheld 
and  which  she  believed  to  be  just.  She  under- 
stood the  complicated  Schleswig-Holstein  question 
thoroughly,  and  her  ministers  themselves  fre- 
quently admitted  that  "she  surprised  them  with 
the  minuteness  and  accuracy  of  her  knowledge." 
She  certainly  did  not  approve  of  the  Duchies 
being  torn  from  Denmark,  from  which  they  were 
fighting  to  be  free,  only  to  be  forcibly  annexed 
by  Prussia.  Neither,  it  is  only  fair  to  add,  did 
the  Hohenzollerns  themselves.  At  the  conclusion 
of  the  war  the  King  of  Prussia  wished  them  to 
enter  the  German  Confederation  as  an  indepen- 
dent State  under  the  sovereignty  of  their  Duke. 
In  this  he  was  supported  by  his  son,  the  Crown 
Prince  Frederick.  Their  subsequent  annexation 
by  Prussia  and  the  dispossession  of  the  Duke  was 
the  work  of  Bismarck,  who,  as  he  confessed  in  his 
Memoirs,  was  '*  willing  to  take  all  the  blame  or 
the  credit  for  it.'' 

In  any  case,  whatever  her  sympathies,  the 
Queen  was  unquestionably  right  in  refusing  to 
expose  England,  single-handed,  to  a  war  with 
two  of  the  most  powerful  nations  in  Europe  in 


A  LEARNED  OPINION  151 

which  no  one  could  foresee  the  consequences  or 
estimate  the  advantages.  Nor  did  it  take  much 
persuasion  to  make  the  Government  come  round 
to  her  view.  Even  Palmerston's  ardour  for  war 
was  cooled  by  the  indifference  of  Russia  and 
France.  It  was  inspired  by  indignation  rather 
than  sympathy.  While  advocating,  as  he  did,  the 
cause  of  Denmark,  he  strongly  condemned  her 
policy  towards  the  Duchies  to  w^hich  their  disaf- 
fection was  due. 

The  learned  Professor  Max  Miiller  of  Oxford, 
whose  opinion  carried  great  weight,  powerfully 
supported  the  Queen.  In  a  series  of  very  able 
articles  in  the  Times  he  exposed  the  hoUowness  of 
the  Danish  claim  to  Schleswig-Holstein.  ''  Den- 
mark is  wrong,''  he  declared,  *'  from  beginning 
to  end.'' 

Others,  equally  distinguished,  expressed  similar 
views.  Many,  too,  who  had  sympathised  with 
the  Danes,  after  dispassionately  examining  the 
question,  subsequently  admitted  they  had  been 
mistaken. 

But,  while  Queen  Victoria  was  not  prepared  to 
go  to  war,  she  was  quite  prepared  to  mediate. 
Three  months  after  hostilities  had  begun  the 
British  Government  succeeded  in  arranging  an 
armistice.  The  spirit,  however,  in  which  the 
belligerents  agreed  to  it  gave  little  promise  of 
peace.  Though  worsted  on  land,  the  Danes  had 
been  victorious  at  sea.  The  very  day  that  they 
consented  to  an  armistice  their  fleet  signally 
defeated  the  combined  Prussian  and  Austrian 
squadron  off  Heligoland. 

Two  months  later,  as  neither  side  could  come 


152     THE    QUEEN    AND    STATE   AFFAIRS 

to  any  agreement,  the  war  was  resumed.  The 
Danish  army  was  driven  from  the  mainland,  and 
the  German  troops  overran  all  Jutland  to  the 
Skaw.  Confined  in  their  islands,  and  foiled  in 
their  hopes  of  European  intervention,  the  Danes 
were  compelled  to  sue  for  peace.  The  treaty  that 
followed  stripped  Denmark  of  Schleswig-Holstein, 
whereby  she  lost  two-fifths  of  her  territory  and 
population. 

The  cynical  manner  in  which  Prussia  and  Austria 
appropriated  the  Duchies  still  further  added  to 
her  humiliation.  By  way  of  justifying  their 
annexation — ^which  Bismarck  afterwards  declared 
was  his  intention  from  the  start — Prussia  and 
Austria  maintained  that,  as  Denmark  had  failed  to 
observe  the  London  Protocol  in  the  first  instance, 
they  were  no  longer  bound  by  it,  and  that  the 
Duchies  were  theirs  by  right  of  conquest.  Hol- 
stein  was  Austria's  share  of  the  plunder,  Schles- 
wig,  Prussia's.  In  1866,  however,  Prussia  took 
Holstein  from  Austria  by  force  of  arms,  and  both 
Duchies  were  incorporated  into  a  province  of  the 
kingdom  of  Prussia. 

As  for  Duke  Frederick  of  Augustenburg,  whom 
Bismarck  had  used  as  a  tool,  to  be  thrown  aside 
when  no  longer  of  use,  he  was  permitted  to 
retain  the  barren  title  of  Duke  of  Schleswig- 
Holstein.  Subsequently,  as  a  further  compensa- 
tion, his  daughter,  Augusta  Victoria,  married  the 
future  Kaiser  Wilhelm  II,  while  his  only  brother. 
Prince  Christian  of  Schleswig-Holstein,  married 
Princess  Helena  of  Great  Britain,  a  daughter  of 
Queen  Victoria. 


DISILLUSIONED  153 


II 


The  Princess  of  Wales  was  wounded  in  her 
tenderest  feeUngs  by  her  failure  to  obtain  the 
support  of  England  for  Denmark.  It  was  her 
heart  that  suffered  rather  than  her  pride.  She 
had  felt  her  father's  position  acutely.  His  re- 
quest had  seemed  so  natural,  her  response  so  easy. 
In  her  inexperience,  she  thought  she  had  but 
to  say  the  word  that  would  set  into  play  the 
redoubtable  force  capable  of  subduing  and  ciubing 
the  predatory  attempt  on  her  native  land.  The 
sympathy  which  she  heard  expressed  ever5nvhere 
justified  her  in  thinking  as  she  did.  To  a  nature 
such  as  hers  a  rebuff  was  like  a  blow.  The 
warning  of  Queen  Victoria  was  a  rough  awakening 
from  a  pleasant  dream  to  the  stern  reality  of 
practical  existence.  What  hurt  her  most  in  the 
Queen's  remonstrance  was  that  anything  so  base 
as  a  political  motive  should  be  attributed  to  her 
devotion  to  her  father's  cause.  As  if,  when  his 
throne  and  the  existence  of  her  country  were  at 
stake,  she  could  think  of  politics  ! 

The  conduct  of  the  Government  seemed  even 
more  callous.  Could  anything  be  more  cruel  than 
to  raise  hopes  only  to  dash  them  ? 

*'  It  is  my  strong  conviction,"  wrote  Professor 
Max  Miiller,  in  his  irrefutable  way,  ''  that  the 
war  was  mainly  brought  about  by  the  encourage- 
ment given  to  Denmark  and  the  taunts  levelled 
at  Germany  by  a  portion  of  the  English  Press." 

But  it  was  with  herself  that  the  Princess  was 
most  keenly  disappointed.    Realising  how  much 


154  THE  QUEEN  AND  STATE  AFFAIRS 

had  been  expected  of  her  in  Denmark,  she  felt 
as  if  she  had  failed  it  in  its  hour  of  need.  She 
blamed  herself  for  its  sufferings.  Every  fresh 
disaster  had  seemed  to  her  a  fresh  reproach. 
Exhausted  by  the  agitation  of  which  she  was  the 
centre,  and  disillusioned  by  the  insincerity  and 
falseness  of  what  she  had  believed  to  be  sincere 
and  true,  she  sank  into  a  state  of  great  depression. 
What  a  mockery  was  her  popularity  1  What  irony 
in  Tennyson's  famous,  oft-quoted  line,  *'We  are 
all  of  us  Danes  in  our  welcome  of  thee !  '' 

Embittered  by  failure,  many  a  woman  in  her 
position  would  have  yielded — as  Princesses  of 
Wales  before  her  had  done — to  the  temptations 
of  the  popular  and  powerful  anti-German  party 
and  sown  dissension  in  the  Court  and  country. 
But  bitterness  and  revenge  were  alike  foreign  to 
her  nature,  though  she  never  forgave  Bismarck. 
Once,  many  years  later,  when  the  Emperor 
William  I  visited  the  British  Court,  he  playfully 
asked  one  of  the  royal  children  what  it  would 
like  him  to  give  it.  ''  The  head  of  Bismarck !  '* 
whispered  the  Princess,  who  was  standing  near, 
loud  enough  for  the  Emperor  to  hear. 

Fortunately,  the  natural  goodness  and  cheer- 
fulness of  her  character  reacted  from  these  de- 
pressing influences.  The  sympathy  she  received 
from  her  husband  in  this  time  of  trial  was  a  great 
consolation.  He  showed  it  in  many  tactful  ways. 
During  the  war  he  studied  to  break  bad  news 
to  her  as  gently  as  possible.  A  member  of  his 
household  who  caused  her  an  attack  of  nerves 
by  the  brusque  announcement  of  a  Danish  defeat 
was  made  to  feel  the  full  weight  of  his  displeasure. 


THE  PRINCESS  IN  DENMARK  155 

On  the  conclusion  of  the  struggle  he  suggested 
that  they  should  pay  a  visit  to  Denmark  with  their 
little  son.  It  was  a  happy  idea,  and  the  spirits 
of  the  Princess  rapidly  revived  at  the  prospect  of 
seeing  her  beloved  parents  and  old  home  again. 

The  British  Government  was  very  doubtful  as 
to  the  advisability  of  the  visit.  The  Danes  con- 
sidered that  England,  on  whose  armed  support, 
guaranteed  by  the  London  Protocol,  they  had 
counted  to  the  last,  had  betrayed  them. 

When  it  was  known  that  the  Prince  of  Wales 
intended  to  accompany  the  Princess  the  Danish 
Press  plainly  intimated  that,  whatever  might  be 
his  private  sentiments,  he  must  be  looked  on  in 
Denmark  as  the  political  representative  of  the 
nation  through  whose  treachery  the  country  had 
been  robbed  of  her  fairest  possessions. 

Queen  Victoria,  however,  in  giving  her  consent, 
counted  on  the  Princess's  well-known  devotion 
to  her  country  to  allay  any  mistrust.  In  this,  as 
usual,  she  proved  her  wisdom.  The  Princess 
herself  had  no  doubts  as  to  the  heartiness  with 
which  she  would  be  welcomed.  At  Bernstorff 
the  crowds  were  so  great  that,  to  acknowledge  the 
salutations  of  the  people,  she  was  obliged  to  rise 
in  her  carriage  that  all  might  see  her. 

The  warmth  of  her  greeting  atoned  for  all 
that  she  had  suffered.  To  a  long-winded  address 
of  welcome  by  a  Lutheran  pastor  she  listened  with 
the  closest  attention,  and,  from  the  manner  in 
which  her  colour  came  and  went,  it  was  easy  to 
see  how  deeply  it  gratified  her. 

It  was  always  thus  whenever  she  visited  Den- 
mark. 


156  THE  QUEEN  AND  STATE  AFFAIRS 

On  one  of  these  occasions,  many  years  later, 
an  Englishman  who  witnessed  her  arrival  wrote  : 

*'  I  have  never  seen  her  look  better  or  more 
handsome.  Surrounded  as  she  was  by  the  greatest 
in  the  land,  she  stood  out  peerless  and  beautiful. 
Her  equal  was  not  there.  As  an  Englishman  I 
could  not  help  feeling  proud  as  I  looked  upon  her 
charming,  sweet  face  and  thought  she  was  our 
Princess. 

*'  She  seems  to  have  been  almost  idolised  in 
Denmark.  The  love  for  her  here  is  intense. 
People  tell  stories  of  her  young  life,  little  incidents 
of  her  goodness  and  courtesy,  probably  quite  for- 
gotten by  her.  '  She  is  ours  still,'  they  say;  '  she 
is  Danish  !  '  '' 

As  for  the  Prince  of  Wales,  though  at  first 
received  coldly  by  the  general  public,  he  won 
golden  opinions  from  those  with  whom  he  came 
into  personal  contact.  Soon  one  heard  nothing 
but  delighted  expressions  of  his  charm  of  manner 
and  kindly  feeling.  The  officers  of  the  Danish 
fleet,  in  particular,  were  loud  in  their  praise.  From 
the  knowledge  he  exhibited  of  nautical  affairs, 
and  the  various  details  of  the  service,  when 
entertained  by  them,  they  believed  it  was  he, 
and  not  his  brother  Prince  Alfred,  who  had  passed 
so  much  time  at  sea. 

As  the  visit  proceeded  the  opinion  of  the  public 
changed.  At  Copenhagen,  where  it  was  feared 
that  he  might  meet  with  a  hostile  demonstration, 
his  reception  was  ''  more  than  friendly :  it  was 
enthusiastic.''  On  his  state  visit  to  the  opera, 
both  within  and  without  the  building,  the  ovation 
he  received  was  such  that  he  was  said  by  the 


VALUE  OF  ROYAL  ALLIANCES  157 

Press  to  have  ''  conquered  the  Danes,  as  his  wife 
had  conquered  the  EngUsh/' 


III 

The  intercession  of  the  Princess  of  Wales  in 
behalf  of  Denmark  was  her  first  and  last  appear- 
ance in  the  political  arena.  The  spirit  of  intrigue 
was  entirely  foreign  to  her  nature,  and  politics 
never  at  any  time  had  any  attraction  for  her. 
Nevertheless,  her  exalted  position,  by  reason  of 
her  family  connections,  rendered  her  politically 
important  in  certain  matters  relating  to  foreign 
policy  with  which  diplomacy  is  concerned. 

It  is  characteristic  of  democracy  to  seek  to 
deny  the  importance  of  royal  alliances.  But  the 
jealousy  of  royal  influence  to  which  this  is  due 
is  itself  proof  to  the  contrary.  Every  royal  alliance 
possesses  a  political  value,  which  is  often  greatest 
when  it  is  minimised. 

In  attempting  to  divest  the  marriage  of  the 
Prince  of  Wales  to  the  Princess  Alexandra  of  Den- 
mark of  any  political  consideration,  Queen  Vic- 
toria only  sought  to  divest  it  of  the  particular 
importance  the  Danes  sought  to  give  it.  The 
difference  between  Danish  and  English  interests 
rendered  this  comparatively  easy.  The  marriage 
was  so  evidently  to  the  advantage  of  Denmark 
that,  when  it  failed  to  accomplish  what  the  Danes 
expected  from  it,  it  seemed  to  lose  any  political 
significance  whatever. 

The  benefit  that  England  derived  from  it, 
however,  was  by  no  means  a  negligible  quantity. 
British  diplomacy  had  begun  to  turn  it  to  account 


158  THE  QUEEN  AND  STATE  AFFAIRS 

even  during  the  very  festivities  of  the  wedding. 
The  Greek  throne  was  going  a-begging.  It  was 
an  honour  for  which  there  was  no  aspirant. 
Stripped  of  their  romantic  glamour,  the  Greeks 
were  looked  upon  in  Europe  as  a  half-civilised, 
untrustworthy,  and  turbulent  people  with  an 
exaggerated  sense  of  their  own  importance.  For 
some  thirty  years — in  fact,  ever  since  they  had 
gained  their  independence  from  the  Turks — their 
throne  had  been  occupied  by  Otto  of  Bavaria. 
He  had,  however,  rendered  himself  increasingly 
unpopular  by  his  ill-advised  methods  of  govern- 
ment, and  had  finally  been  deposed. 

In  their  anxiety  to  fill  his  place,  the  Greeks  had 
offered  the  Crown  to  Prince  Alfred,  the  younger 
brother  of  the  Prince  of  Wales.  He  had  not  the 
least  desire  for  it,  and  was,  moreover,  barred 
from  accepting  it  by  an  agreement  between  the 
Great  Powers,  which  excluded  all  members  of 
their  reigning  houses. 

But,  though  the  British  Government  was  unable, 
and  Queen  Victoria  unwilling,  to  put  a  British 
prince  on  the  vacant  throne,  both  were  equally 
desirous  to  find  a  substitute,  who,  by  owing  his 
crown  to  England,  could  be  depended  on  to 
further  English  interests  in  Greece.  Prince 
William,  the  second  son  of  Prince  Christian  and 
the  favourite  brother  of  the  Princess  of  Wales, 
whom  he  closely  resembled,  was  accordingly 
suggested  to  the  Greeks,  who,  being  very  pro- 
English  at  the  time,  accepted  him  willingly. 
Indeed,  so  anxious  were  they  to  fill  their  vacant 
throne  that  when  the  President  of  the  Assembly 
proposed,  '' as  a  simple  Greek  citizen,  that,  just 


Photo,   W.  &  D.  Downey. 

KING    GEJORGE    I    OF    GREECE    AND    QUEEN    AI^EXANDRA. 


THE   GREEK  THRONE  169 

as  in  one  day  they  had  got  rid  of  the  old  king,  so 
they  should  in  one  day  choose  the  new  one/'  he 
was  elected  unanimously. 

In  their  haste,  however,  they  nearly  upset  the 
whole  scheme.  For  Prince  Christian,  fearing  the 
opposition  of  Frederick  VII,  on  his  return  to 
Copenhagen  after  his  daughter's  wedding,  had 
failed  to  inform  the  King,  who  first  learnt  from  the 
public  Press  what  was  in  the  wind.  Indignant 
at  being  slighted,  and  interpreting  the  scheme  as 
an  attempt  to  compromise  him  in  the  eyes  of 
his  subjects  and  entangle  Denmark  in  the  affairs 
of  Greece,  the  Danish  monarch  raised  so  many 
objections  that  Prince  Christian,  whose  position 
had  become  embarrassing,  desired  to  withdraw 
from  the  undertaking  altogether,  to  the  great 
disgust  of  the  Greeks,  who  openly  declared  their 
intention  of  seeking  another  king. 

To  prevent  this,  the  British  Government,  which, 
while  ready  to  stand  sponsor  for  Prince  William, 
had  no  desire  to  support  him  actively,  deemed  it 
advisable  to  offer  Greece  the  Ionian  Islands  as  a 
sop.  To  appease  Frederick  VII,  however,  was  a 
more  difficult  matter.  Before  giving  his  consent, 
which  was  essential,  he  obliged  Prince  William  to 
renounce  for  himself  and  his  descendants  all  claims 
to  the  Danish  throne  in  order  to  secure  Denmark 
from  any  possible  entanglement. 

George  I,  as  Prince  William  was  henceforth 
known,  regarded  the  whole  affair  as  an  adventure, 
and  was  ready  to  consent  to  anything.  He  was 
barely  eighteen  when  he  arrived  in  Greece.  Sir 
Horace  Rumbold,  the  British  Minister  in  Athens 
at  the  time,  said  that  he  ''possessed  such  boyish. 


160     THE   QUEEN   AND   STATE   AFFAIRS 

animal  spirits  it  was  difficult  for  him  to  preserve 
the  gravity  due  to  his  royal  position/'  He  had, 
however,  plenty  of  courage,  which  was  the  essential 
requisite,  and  ability  developed  with  experience. 
From  the  start  he  gave  his  excitable  subjects  to 
understand  very  clearly  that  *'  he  kept  his  port- 
manteau ready  packed ''  to  leave  at  a  moment, 
if  they  made  things  unpleasant  for  him.  The 
threat  served  to  extricate  him  many  a  time  from 
critical  situations  which,  as  was  said  on  one 
occasion,  ''  would  have  taxed  even  Napoleonic 
statesmanship.'' 

Thanks  to  his  powerful  family  connections,  he 
won  for  Greece  consideration  and  indulgence  again 
and  again,  which  it  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  she 
would  certainly  not  have  obtained  otherwise. 

How  much  significance  the  Russian  Government 
attached  to  the  influence  to  which  he  owed  his 
throne  may  be  judged  from  the  fact  that  his 
marriage  to  the  Grand  Duchess  Olga,  the  Czar's 
cousin,  was  regarded  in  Russia  as  '^a  proper 
check  upon  any  excess  of  Anglophil  tendencies 
which  might  be  manifested  by  the  brother  of  the 
Princess  of  Wales." 

His  assassination  in  1913,  after  a  reign  of  fifty 
years,  was  a  blow  to  British  prestige  in  Greece. 
It  was  reported  that,  when  Queen  Alexandra  was 
informed  of  the  news,  she  completely  broke  down 
and  had  to  be  helped  to  bed  in  a  state  of  collapse. 

IV 

When  the  history  of  Europe  during  the  past 
fifty  years  comes  to  be  written  the  historian  can- 


THE  HOUSE  OF  GLUCKSBURG  161 

not  fail  to  call  attention  to  the  family  affections 
of  the  House  of  Glucksburg  and  their  influence  on 
international  affairs.     There  are  many,  no  doubt, 
to  whom  the  statement  will  seem  novel  and  exag- 
gerated ;  if  so,  they  will  hardly  be  found  in  the 
Embassies,  Legations,  or  Foreign  Offices  of  the 
Great  Powers.   The  family  affections  of  the  Glucks- 
burgs  have  been   a  factor   of  immense  political 
importance  in  European  diplomacy  since  Princess 
Alexandra   of   Denmark   married   the   Prince   of 
Wales,  though,  judging  from  the  manner  in  which 
the  various  Governments,  whose  interest  it  was 
to  exploit  it,  endeavoured  to  turn  it  to  account, 
it  is  evident  its   true   character  was  long  mis- 
understood. 

The  reason  is  simple.  The  political  value  of 
the  deep  affection  that  existed  between  the 
members  of  King  Christian  IX' s  family  lay  in  its 
unity.  To  obtain  from  it  the  great  advantages 
it  possessed,  it  was  necessary  to  respect  this 
quality.  It  took  European  diplomacy  long  to 
realise  this,  and  in  the  process  it  was  affection 
which  exploited  diplomacy,  with  results  contrary 
to  what  the  diplomatists  originally  had  intended. 

Dislike  of  Prussia  was  a  fetish  with  the  family 
of  Christian  IX.  They  never  forgave  the  Hohen- 
zollerns  for  the  loss  of  Schleswig-Holstein. 

On  arriving  at  Kiel  when  returning  to  England 
after  her  first  visit  to  Denmark  in  1864,  the 
Princess  of  Wales  noticed  that  the  Prussian  flag 
had  been  hoisted  on  the  royal  yacht  in  which 
she  travelled  from  Copenhagen.  Turning  to  one 
of  her  suite,  she  demanded  that  the  flag  should 
be  taken  down.  She  was  reminded  that  they 
11 


162     THE    QUEEN   AND    STATE   AFFAIRS 

were  now  in  Prussian  waters,  and  that  to  do  so 
would  be  to  offer  an  insult  to  Prussia. 

'*  It  doesn't  matter  in  the  least,"  replied  the 
Princess  firmly.     ''  I  shall  not  move  one  step  till 
that  flag  is  hauled  down.'* 
And  it  was. 

The  marriages  of  King  Christian's  children 
intensified  this  anti-Prussian  spirit.  For  a  cen- 
tury it  had  been  the  custom  of  Danish  royalty 
to  seek  German  alliances.  After  the  humihation 
of  the  Schleswig  War,  which  all  but  cost  Christian 
IX  his  crown,  this  custom  ceased. 

His  eldest  son.  Crown  Prince  Frederick,  married 
Princess  Louise  of  Sweden,  the  only  daughter 
of  Charles  XV,  Bernadotte's  son.  Sweden  had 
been  intensely  anti-German  in  the  war.  Prince 
Waldemar,  the  youngest,  went  even  further  afield. 
His  wife.  Princess  Marie  of  Orleans,  was  French 
and  Catholic — a  fact  to  which  much  political 
significance  was  attached,  the  more  so  as  the 
House  of  Glucksburg  was  Protestant  and  had 
never  before  made  a  Catholic  alliance. 

Still  more  significant  was  the  marriage  of 
Princess  Thyra,  King  Christian's  youngest 
daughter. 

''  The  Princess,"  says  one  who  knows  her  well, 
*'  was  good,  clever,  and  charming.  She  had  the 
most  beautiful,  large,  dark  blue  eyes  with  a  won- 
derful expression  of  truthfulness  and  goodness  in 
them.  A  tragic  bereavement  turned  her  golden 
hair  snow-white,  but,  when  I  saw  her  again  after 
a  lapse  of  some  years,  her  eyes  seemed  to  me 
more  beautiful  than  ever.  Queen  Alexandra,  once 
speaking  to  me  of  her  sister  and  all  the  sorrow 


THE   DUKE   OF   CUMBERLAND  168 

that  had  befallen  her,  said,  '  Why  should  it  ?  For 
she  is  the  best  woman  I  know ;  really  quite  angelic/ 
Her  marriage  to  the  Duke  of  Cumberland  was  a 
real  love  match,  and  afforded  both  families  the 
greatest  satisfaction." 

She  had  been  much  sought  after.     The  Duke 
of  Connaught  and  the  Prince  Imperial  had  both 
been   reported    engaged    to   her.     The   Duke    of 
Cumberland,  whom  she  eventually  married,  was 
the  avowed  and  inveterate  enemy  of  the  Hohen- 
zollerns,  who  had  robbed  his  father  of  the  kingdom 
of    Hanover    and   confiscated   his   estates.      The 
hostihty  of  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Cumberland 
to  the  Kaiser  was  intense,  and  for  a  long  time 
they  refused  to  consent  to  the  marriage  of  their 
eldest  son  to  his  only  daughter.     The  Duke  only 
yielded  in  the  end  when  the  Prussian  Government 
permitted  his  son  to  succeed  to  the  ducal  throne 
of  Brunswick,  to  which,  as  ex-King  of  Hanover, 
he  was  heir.     He  refused,  however,  to  attend  the 
wedding,  nor  would  he  consent  when,  to  appease 
him,   the  Kaiser   offered   to   give  him  back  his 
Hanoverian  estates,  though  they  were  of  enormous 
value,  if  he  would  renounce  his  claims  to  the 
throne  which  was  quite  out  of  his  grasp. 

''  My  son  shall  never  say,  after  my  death,''  he 
replied,  ''  that  his  father  sold  his  birthright  for 
gold." 

He  was  a  grand  seigneur  of  the  most  spotless 
honour.  At  the  Court  of  the  Emperor  Francis 
Joseph,  who  also  had  his  grudge  against  the 
liohenzollerns,  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Cumber- 
land were  granted  the  rank  of  King  and  Queen. 
The  Duke,  indeed,  regarded  himself  as  a  king. 


164  THE  QUEEN  AND  STATE  AFFAIRS 

and  in  his  palace  in  Vienna  and  at  the  Castle  of 
Gmunden  he  lived  in  regal  state.  As  he  was  also 
a  member  of  the  British  Royal  Family,  his  servants 
wore  the  scarlet  liveries  with  large  capes  of  the 
days  of  George  III. 

The  political  importance  of  these  marriages 
in  itself  was  almost  negligible.  They  merely  in- 
dicated a  decided  German  aversion  in  much  the 
same  way  as  the  marriages  of  Queen  Victoria's 
children  indicated  her  equally  strong  German 
penchant.  Nevertheless,  when  taken  in  conjunc- 
tion with  the  alliances  formed  by  the  Princesses 
Alexandra  and  Dagmar,  which  preceded  them, 
they  acquired  immense  political  significance. 

To  Christian  IX  and  Denmark  the  marriages 
of  his  children  were  of  the  greatest  advantage. 
Though  he  became  one  of  the  most  popular 
monarchs  that  ever  occupied  the  Danish  throne, 
he  could  scarcely  be  said  to  have  lived  in  the 
hearts  of  his  subjects  in  the  first  years  of  his 
reign.  For,  while  even  the  most  disaffected  were 
obliged  to  admit  that  royalty  had  never  appeared 
so  irreproachable  as  in  his  domestic  circle,  the 
people  generally  blamed  him  for  the  humiliations 
which  were  largely  due  to  their  own  blunders. 
There  is  little  doubt  that  the  visit  the  Princess 
of  Wales  paid  her  parents  after  the  war  saved 
her  father  from  the  peril  of  abdication,  while 
the  marriage  of  the  Princess  Dagmar  still  further 
strengthened  the  throne  and  produced  a  feeling  of 
security  in  the  country  generally.  It  was  regarded 
as  a  sort  of  consolation  and  encouragement  that 
the  reigning  house  was  able  to  form  such  important 
alhances. 


THE    DUCHESS    OF    CUMBERI*AND. 


MARRIAGE   OF  THE  EMPRESS  MARIE      165 

Princess  Dagmar's  marriage  to  the  Czarevitch 
was  particularly  gratifying,  as  it  seemed  to  be  a 
guarantee  from  further  German  aggression.  She 
had  been  previously  engaged  to  his  elder  brother, 
on  whose  premature  death,  after  a  brief  illness, 
he  had  become  heir  to  the  Throne  of  All  the  Russias. 
Their  marriage  was  reported  to  be  the  dying  wish 
of  the  late  Czarevitch,  the  fulfilment  of  which  was 
regarded  as  a  pious  obligation  by  both. 

In  England  and  France,  however,  this  was 
considered  as  merely  a  pretext  to  veil  some  deep- 
laid  scheme  of  the  Czar,  who  was  credited  with 
the  desire  to  be  revenged  for  the  Crimean  War. 
The  Press  of  both  countries  was  violently  agitated, 
and  Russia  was  openly  accused  of  secretly  con- 
spiring with  Prussia  to  partition  Denmark,  which 
she  was  told  neither  England  nor  France  would 
tolerate. 

This  accusation  was  bitterly  resented  by  the 
Russian  Government  through  the  paper  which 
was  believed  to  voice  its  opinions. 

"  The  key  of  war  and  peace  in  Continental 
Europe,'*  it  retorted  ominously,  ''is  by  no  means 
held  on  the  banks  of  the  Thames  and  Seine,  as 
some  affect  to  think.  The  community  of  Russian 
and  Prussian  interests  is  confirmed  by  the  glorious 
remembrance  of  1812.'' 

Realising  the  danger  of  continuing  such  a 
controversy,  the  Times  as  the  organ  of  British 
Government  hastened  to  pour  oil  on  the  troubled 
waters.  In  a  leading  article  remarkable  for 
the  shrewdness  of  its  ■  observations,  it  remarked 
sarcastically,  with  a  curious  mingling  of  affected 
indifference  and  flattery  : 


166     THE    QUEEN   AND    STATE   AFFAIRS 

"  We  envy  the  faith  of  those  who  still  attach 
poKtical    importance    to    Imperial    matrimonial 
alliances.     A   King   or   Crown   Prince   marries   a 
Princess  nowadays,  not  a  country.     Russia  takes 
nothing  from  Denmark  but  a  Danish  bride;  she 
gives    nothing,    owes    nothing    in    return.      We 
certainly  attach  no  belief  to  the  rumours  of  a 
projected  partition  of  the  Scandinavian  kingdom 
between  Russia  and  Prussia.     But,  if  devoid  of 
all   political   results  for   Denmark,  the   Imperial 
marriage  may  not  be  without  momentous  con- 
sequences on  the  destinies  of  Russia  herself. 

''  A  young  Prince  of  one  and  twenty  can  hardly 
be  inaccessible  to  the  pure-minded  and  lovely 
being  destined  to  fill  up  so  large  a  part  of  his 
existence.  Those  who  have  been  admitted  to 
the  domestic  circle  of  Danish  Royalty  know  the 
full  value  of  the  boon  Providence  has  vouchsafed 
to  Holy  Russia.  We  only  hope  the  young  Princess 
may  find  in  Russia  as  much  happiness  as  her 
sweet  presence  seems  intended  to  bring  with  it." 

From  all  of  which  one  may  judge,  in  spite  of 
democratic  prejudice  to  the  contrary,  whether 
international  royal  marriages  possess  political 
significance  or  not. 

If,  as  there  have  since  been  grounds  for  suppos- 
ing, this  marriage  was  really  to  be  interpreted  as 
a  sign  of  Russia's  friendliness  rather  than  hostility 
to  France  and  England,  the  rebuff  she  received 
had  the  effect  of  driving  her  into  the  arms  of 
Germany  and  keeping  her  there  till  the  end  of 
the  Bismarckian  regime. 

For  the  next  fifteen  years  diplomacy  attached 
no  political  importance  to  the  Princess  Dagmar. 


A  UNITED   FAMILY  167 

Yet  her  value  as  a  political  factor,  though  unper- 
ceived,  was  increasing  yearly  with  compound 
interest.  The  rivalry  between  England  and  Russia 
continued.  An  alliance  was  formed  between 
Russia,  Germany,  and  Austria  for  mutual  pro- 
tection— some  said  for  mutual  aggrandisement. 
It  was  known  as  the  Dreibund,  or  Emperors' 
League.  The  Allies  met  each  year  to  renew  their 
pledges  in  full  view  of  the  world.  At  the  same 
time  Christian  IX's  children  and  their  families 
reassembled  in  the  home  of  their  childhood  and 
quietly  renewed  their  memories  of  the  past. 

The  German  Emperor  was  the  first  to  realise 
the  importance  of  these  annual  reunions  and  the 
far-reaching  hostile  influences  they  were  capable 
of  exercising.  To  defeat  them,  he  sought  in  vain 
to  be  included  in  that  too  friendly  circle  of  which 
he  knew  full  well  he  was  the  bete  noire.  It  was 
the  mistrust  which  these  meetings,  so  dear  to 
Alexander  III,  created  between  Russia  and 
Germany  that  eventually  destroyed  the  friendship 
which  had  existed  so  long  between  their  rulers. 
The  dissensions,  however,  which  diplomacy  now 
began  with  serious  intention  to  sow  in  the  family 
affections  of  the  Glucksburgs  fell  on  barren  soil. 
Whatever  the  political  aims  of  the  various  Powers, 
whether  they  differed  or  changed,  those  of  Chris- 
tian IX  and  his  children  remained  unalterable  and 
identical.  Their  one  object  was  to  find  them- 
selves on  the  same  side  in  the  event  of  a  possible 
war. 

It  was  Marie  Feodorovna — as  the  Princess 
Dagmar  was  styled  after  her  marriage — who  gave 
this   unity    of   purpose   its   motive   power.     She 


168     THE    QUEEN   AND    STATE    AFFAIRS 

had  greater  ability  and  energy  than  her  brothers 
or  sisters,  and,  above  all,  a  free  field  in  which  to 
exercise  them. 

"  She  was  a  charmer  in  the  widest  sense  of 
the  word,"  says  Vasili,  whose  knowledge  of  the 
Court  of  Russia  was  intimate.  ''  Her  charm  was 
quite  indescribable.  It  exercised  a  fascination  to 
which  it  was  impossible  not  to  succumb.  Her 
lovely  smile,  the  gentle  look  in  her  eyes — those 
great,  luminous  eyes  that  seemed  to  read  into 
one's  soul — brought  more  friends  to  her  husband 
than  years  of  effort  would  have  done." 

Though  indifferent  to  her  at  first,  the  Czar  grew 
to  love  her  devotedly.  Her  influence  over  him 
was  enormous,  yet  few  ever  guessed  it,  so  closely 
did  she  hide  it  from  the  world.  She  seemed  in- 
capable of  the  merest  semblance  of  intrigue,  and 
only  to  care  for  amusement.  At  her  small  recep- 
tions, to  which  only  those  with  whom  she  was 
most  intimate  were  invited,  the  Danish  Minister 
was  the  only  foreign  diplomatist  to  be  seen. 

From  the  moment,  however,  she  ascended  the 
throne  she  sought  to  detach  Russia  from  Germany. 
This  was  no  easy  task.  Alexander  III  was  by 
nature  a  firm  believer  in  autocracy.  The  assas- 
sination of  his  father,  and  the  frequent  attempts 
on  his  own  life,  which  in  the  end  shattered  his 
iron  nerves,  only  served  to  strengthen  this  con- 
viction. The  Liberalism  of  Western  Europe  was 
utterly  abhorrent  to  him.  Though  anti-German, 
he  was  fully  aware  that  he,  his  dynasty,  and  all 
the  interests  of  the  House  of  Romanoff,  had  far 
more  to  gain  from  an  alliance  with  Germany 
than  with  England  or  France, 


THE    EMPRESS    MARIE. 


A  RACE   WITH  DEATH  169 

Nevertheless,  the  Empress  Marie's  efforts  never 
slackened.  She  hated  Prussia  whole-heartedly, 
hated  it  for  tearing  Schleswig-Holstein  from 
Denmark  and  afterwards  absorbing,  among  other 
things,  her  grandfather's  diminutive  Landgravi- 
nate  of  Hesse-Cassel  when  forming  the  Rhenish 
Province ;  and  this  hate  was  intensified  by  a  fear 
lest  Russia,  through  her  enemy,  should  be  drawn 
into  a  war  with  England,  whereby  a  barrier  would 
be  created  between  her  and  her  beloved  sister. 
This,  too,  the  latter  dreaded.  National  misunder- 
standings were  powerless  to  sever  or  weaken  the 
bond  that  united  them — a  bond  that  became 
stronger,  if  possible,  with  every  annual  meeting 
in  the  ever  fondly  loved  home. 

Nor  was  the  Czar  able  to  resist  the  charm  of 
those  delightful  family  reunions  in  Denmark, 
where,  without  losing  an  atom  of  majesty,  he 
could  experience  the  purest  joys  of  life.  For  his 
wife's  sister  he  had  the  greatest  admiration  and 
affection.  When  he  lay  stricken  at  Livadia  past 
all  hope  of  recovery,  the  Princess  of  Wales  was 
the  first  person  to  be  informed.  Accompanied  by 
the  Prince,  she  started  immediately  for  the  Crimea. 
It  was  a  race  with  death.  At  some  station  on 
the  journey,  during  which  she  was  met  by  her 
sister,  the  Duchess  of  Cumberland,  the  news  was 
broken  to  her  that  the  Czar  had  died.  The 
thought  of  her  coming,  however,  had  cheered  the 
dying  autocrat.  ''  She  will  be  a  comfort  to 
Marie,"  he  said.  One  of  his  last  acts  was  to 
write  her  a  line  of  farewell. 

As  for  the  Empress,  as  soon  as  she  saw  her 
sister,   her  composure  gave  way ;    for  the  first 


170     THE    QUEEN   AND    STATE   AFFAIRS 

time  she  seemed  to  realise  the  full  extent  of  her 
terrible  misfortune. 

Though  an  alliance  between  their  respective 
countries  had  been  impossible  during  the  Czar's 
life-time,  the  devotion  of  the  sisters  had  not  been 
without  political  results.  By  seeking  to  dissipate, 
each  in  her  separate  sphere,  every  misunderstand- 
ing that  arose  between  England  and  Russia,  they 
had  helped  to  preserve  amity,  while  undermining 
in  their  annual  family  reunions  the  League  of  the 
Three  Emperors.  When  Alexander  III  died  the 
alliance  between  Russia  and  Germany  was  at  an  end. 

His  death  was  a  crushing  blow  to  the  Empress's 
hopes.  Affection  and  ambition  alike  seemed 
buried  in  his  grave.  At  the  wedding  of  her  son, 
Nicholas  II,  which  took  place  three  weeks  after 
Alexander's  death,  her  eyes  were  red  with  weeping 
and  her  whole  appearance  was  that  of  complete 
dejection.  The  presence  of  her  parents,  the 
Prince  and  Princess  of  Wales,  and  all  the  House 
of  Glucksburg  failed  to  console  her.  ''  Her  father, 
on  whose  arm  she  leant,"  said  one  who  was 
present,  '^  in  vain  did  his  best  to  comfort  her. 
It  was  a  touching  sight  to  see  this  old  man  tenderly 
trying  to  sustain  her." 

When,  however,  the  first  shock  of  grief  had 
passed  her  ambition  reasserted  itself  with  renewed 
vigour.  The  difficulties  she  had  to  contend  against 
now  were  greater  than  before.  The  prospect  of 
any  rapprochement  between  Russia  and  England 
seemed  more  remote  than  ever.  In  England  the 
great  expansion  of  Russia  in  Asia  during  the  reign 
of  Alexander  III  had  created  suspicion  as  to  her 
intentions  in  regard  to  India,  which  the  Franco- 


THE   ANGEL   OF  RUSSIA  171 

Russian  alliance  increased.  England  could  not 
understand  this  sudden  friendly  attitude  of  Czarist 
Russia  to  republican  France,  between  whose 
Government  and  the  British  the  relations  at  this 
time  were  far  from  cordial.  Furthermore,  in 
England,  whose  democratic  spirit  was  becoming 
more  and  more  Radical,  there  was  no  desire  for 
an  understanding  with  the  Russian  autocracy. 
Even  when  the  alliance  was  eventually  effected 
many  years  later,  it  was  regarded  by  a  large 
section  of  the  people  as  a  ''  betrayal  of  principle.'' 

The  English  objections,  however,  were  just  the 
sort  which  it  is  the  business  of  diplomacy  to  remove. 
To  the  ''  Angel  of  Russia,"  as  Alexander  III  had 
called  the  Empress  Marie,  the  Russian  difficulties 
she  had  to  surmount  appeared  much  greater. 
Though  Germany  had  become  unpopular  in  Russia, 
the  German  influence  at  Court  was  still  very 
powerful.  Several  of  the  Grand  Duchesses  were 
German.  More  significant  still,  the  Czarina  herself 
was  a  German.  The  relations  between  the  Empress 
Marie  and  her  daughter-in-law  were  strained  from 
the  start.  Considering  the  Czarina's  German 
birth  and  connections,  and  the  deductions  to  be 
drawn  from  them,  one  wonders  how  so  clever  a 
woman  as  the  Empress  consented  to  her  son's 
choice  of  a  consort,  which  she  had  it  in  her  power 
to  control,  particularly  as  she  knew,  from  her  own 
experience,  the  influence  it  was  possible  for  a  wife 
to  acquire  over  her  husband. 

Though  she  had  brought  up  her  son  to  rely  on 
her  from  infancy,  none  knew  better  than  herself 
his  weak  and  vacillating  character.  She  did  not 
at  first  fear  that  the  Czarina  might  acquire  an 


172     THE    QUEEN    AND    STATE    AFFAIRS 

ascendancy  over  Nicholas  II,  which  would  oppose 
her  schemes,  so  much  as  the  loss  of  her  own 
influence  over  him. 

To  preserve  this,  and  to  turn  it  to  account, 
was  her  sole  preoccupation.  Her  attitude  to  the 
Czarina  was  one  of  studied  indifference  rather  than 
hostility.  The  position  of  the  young  Empress 
was  not  an  enviable  one.  Ignorant  of  the  language 
and  the  customs  of  the  country  to  which  she  had 
come,  she  was  unable  to  adapt  herself  to  her  new 
surroundings.  Too  proud  to  seek  popularity,  she 
resented  the  adverse  criticism  to  which  her  shy 
and  reserved  nature  exposed  her.  By  tactlessness, 
which  was  mistaken  for  arrogance,  she  turned 
possible  sympathisers  into  enemies.  Her  failure 
to  supply  the  Throne  with  an  heir  still  further 
increased  her  mortification.  Unhappy  and  ailing, 
she  became  a  prey  to  a  morbid  melancholy,  and 
lived  isolated  and  a  stranger  in  the  midst  of  the 
glittering  Court  in  which  she  should  have  been 
at  once  supreme  and  honoured. 

In  the  meantime  the  influence  of  the  Empress 
Marie  over  her  son  was  strengthened  by  the  mere 
contrast  of  her  popularity  with  her  daughter-in- 
law's  insignificance.  It  was  she  who  reigned, 
whom  all  courted,  and  to  whom  Nicholas  himself, 
devoted  son  that  he  was,  turned  for  sympathy  and 
advice.  How  great  this  influence  was  none  knew 
better  than  the  unfortunate  Czarina.  During  the 
Russo-Japanese  War  she  drew  a  caricature  of 
her  husband  in  bib  and  tucker  seated  in  a  high- 
legged  chair,  while  his  mother  fed  him.  *'  He 
would  not  go  against  his  mother  in  anything  she 
wanted,''  says  Vasili. 


THE  ANGLO-RUSSIAN  ALLIANCE         178 

Yet  the  Czar  was  by  no  means  indifferent  to 
his  wife,  whom  he  had  married  for  love.  Even 
in  the  Court  of  Russia  domesticity  had  become 
a  characteristic  of  royalty.  Nicholas  II  was 
essentially  a  *'  family  man/'  and  after  the  birth  of 
the  Czarevitch  his  affection  for  his  wife  increased. 
As  the  mother  of  the  Heir  to  the  Throne  her  whole 
position  was  changed.  She,  too,  changed.  Her 
nature  seemed  to  have  been  transformed  by  the 
birth  of  her  son.  Her  timidity  and  nervousness 
vanished.  Joy  took  the  place  of  the  former 
melancholy.  With  her  boy  ambition  was  born. 
She  was  no  longer  to  be  treated  as  a  creature  of 
no  consequence,  and  proudly  asserted  herself. 

It  has  been  said  by  those  behind  the  scenes 
at  the  Russian  Court  that,  if  the  Empress  Marie 
had  adopted  a  different  attitude  to  the  Czarina, 
she  would  have  found  in  her  daughter-in-law  a 
powerful   support   instead   of   an   obstacle.     The 
Anglo-Russian     Alliance — the     dream      of      the 
Empress's  life,  and  which,  in  spite  of  the  greatest 
obstacles  to  its  achievement,  she  finally  realised — 
was  not  opposed  by  the  Czarina.    On  the  contrary, 
she  too  desired  it.     Brought  up  under  the  eye 
of  her  grandmother.   Queen  Victoria,  whom  she 
venerated,  imbued  with  English  ideas,  and  speak- 
ing Enghsh  in  preference  to  any  other  language, 
her  sympathies,  though  she  was  born  in  Germany, 
were  with  her  mother's  family.     It  was  not  till 
the  defeat  and  demoralisation  of  Russia  during  the 
Great  War  threatened  to  destroy  the  State  and 
engulf  her  throne  and  family  in  the  general  ruin, 
as  they   eventually  did,   that  the  epithet  ''  pro- 
German  "  could  with  any  reason  be  applied  to  her. 


174     THE    QUEEN    AND    STATE    AFFAIRS 

In  the  final  struggle  with  the  Empress  Marie 
for  the  possession  of  the  vacillating  will  of  the 
Czar,  who  was  to  both  the  fount  of  power,  her  aim 
was  to  save  the  Throne  for  her  son.  The  Empress's 
was  to  avoid  the  crowning  humiliation  of  bending 
the  knee  to  the  enemy  she  had  successfully  defied 
all  her  life.  In  this  furious  duel  the  strength 
and  weakness  of  the  characters  of  both  revealed 
themselves.  At  bay,  the  Czarina  was  for  peace 
at  any  price.  The  Empress  Marie  preferred  to 
go  down  in  the  wreck. 

If  the  gesture  of  the  Czarina  calls  for  pity,  then 
that  of  the  Empress  excites  admiration.  The 
unyielding  spirit  she  showed  before  the  final 
crash  profoundly  influenced  the  Czar.  It  explains 
why  the  political  and  diplomatic  obstacles  to 
the  Anglo-Russian  alliance,  which  without  her 
active  help  could  not  have  been  effected,  were 
finally  surmounted.  It  was  with  her  that  the 
idea  originated,  years  before  the  influences  which 
were  generated  by  the  annual  reunions  of  the 
British  and  Russian  Royal  Families  in  Denmark 
were  strong  enough  to  render  it  possible.  It  was 
the  direct  result  of  those  meetings.  They  were 
the  soil,  prepared  by  sisterly  affection,  in  which 
the  seed  was  sown.  The  harvest,  long  in  coming 
to  fruition,  was  garnered  by  England. 

In  the  drama  of  politics,  whether  national  or 
international,  personality  always  plays  the  prin- 
cipal role.  The  ''  plot "  of  the  Anglo-Russian 
Alliance  is  the  story  of  a  debt  that  democracy 
owes  to  royalty. 


>    >  ?,  ? 


CHAPTER  VII 
THE  QUEEN  AND  SOCIETY 

I.    QUEEN  victoria's  COURT  BEFORE  AND  AFTER  THE  DEATH  OF  THE 

PRINCE  CONSORT THE  SIGNIFICANCE  AND  IMPORTANCE  OF  A  COURT  TO  A 

MONARCHY     II.  THE  SECLUSION  OF  THE  QUEEN THE  PUBLIC  RESENTMENT 

THE     queen's     remarkable     PROTEST ITS     VINDICATION.       III.    THE 

PRINCE   OF  WALES  BECOMES  THE   QUEEN's  REPRESENTATIVE  IN  SOCIETY 

HIS  QUALIFICATION  FOR  THE  ROLE THE    BRILLIANT  REVIVAL  OF  THE 

LONDON    SEASON THE    PRINCESS    OF    WALES'S    FIRST    DRAWING-ROOM 

THE   GUILDHALL   BALL THE   POMP   OF   DEMOCRACY CURIOSITY   TO    SEE 

THE     PRINCESS MOBBED THE    ROYAL     VISIT    TO     OXFORD WILD     EN- 
THUSIASM   OF   THE   STUDENTS THE   SPLENDOUR    OF    THE    GUARDS'  BALL 

THE   PRINCESS  AT  THE   OPERA ELECTRIC   EFFECT  OF  HER   ENTRY   ON 

THE    AUDIENCE.       IV.    EUROPEAN  SOCIETY THE  COURT  OF  THE  EMPRESS 

EUGENIE THE    SECRET    OF    ITS     PRESTIGE EFFECT    OF    THE    FRANCO- 
PRUSSIAN    WAR    ON    ENGLISH    SOCIETY — THE   COURT    OF   THE    PRINCE    OF 

WALES ITS   COSMOPOLITAN    CHARACTER IMMENSE   INFLUENCE   OF   THE 

PRINCE   AND    PRINCESS    OF    WALES THE    LONDON    SEASON    BECOMES    AN 

INTERNATIONAL    INSTITUTION       V.    THE    GRADUAL    TRANSFORMATION     OF 

SOCIETY  UNDER  DEMOCRACY THE  DECAY  OF  VICTORIAN  MORALS THE 

GOOD   INFLUENCE   OF  THE  PRINCESS   OF  WALES — WHAT  THE  MONARCHY 
AND    THE    NATION    OWE   TO    HER. 


From  her  marriage  in  1840  to  the  death  of  the 
Prince  Consort  in  1861,  the  Court  of  Queen 
Victoria  was  the  most  briUiant  in  Europe.  This 
is  not  saying  much,  for  the  atmosphere  of  con- 
scious dignity  which  pervaded  the  European 
Courts  of  the  period  was  not  that  usually  asso- 
ciated with  brilliancy.  Royalty  everywhere  was 
too  busy  assimilating  itself  to  the  democratic 
conception  of  its  use  in  the  new  order  of  things 
to  give  any  special  lustre  to  Society.  Life  gene- 
rally bore  the  stamp  of  the  triumphant  bourgeois 
ideal,  of  which  brilliancy  and  all  that  it  implies 

176 


176  THE    QUEEN    AND    SOCIETY 

is  not  a  characteristic.  On  the  Continent  the 
haute  bourgeoisie,  or  aristocratised  middle  class, 
into  which  the  bourgeois  regime  was  ultimately 
to  degenerate,  had  not  yet  evolved  itself. 

In  England,  however,  where  an  almost  total 
absence  of  foreign  competition  in  trade  had  en- 
riched the  country  in  a  manner  never  before 
paralleled  in  its  history,  a  plutocracy  was  being 
rapidly  formed.  The  Court  of  Queen  Victoria, 
with  its  heavy  magnificence  and  solemn  stateli- 
ness,  was  perfectly  adapted  to  the  social  ideas  and 
requirements  of  the  age.  It  was  such  a  Court 
as  one  might  expect  to  find  in  a  monarchy  that 
had  unconsciously  acquired  the  character  of  a 
democracy,  at  once  parvenu  and  puritan,  by  the 
grace  of  which  it  existed. 

During  the  life-time  of  the  Prince  Consort  the 
English  Court  was  the  scene  of  many  splendid 
functions.  Most  of  the  European  sovereigns  paid 
state  visits  to  England,  and  on  each  occasion  were 
received  with  great  pomp.  The  Court  ceremonies 
generally  were  conducted  on  a  scale  of  great 
magnificence.  At  Court  banquets,  which  were 
frequent,  covers  were  laid  for  from  five  to  six 
hundred  persons,  and  the  famous  gold  plate  was 
always  used.  The  Queen  also  gave  several  garden- 
parties  and  balls  during  the  season  at  Buckingham 
Palace  and  Windsor.  The  balls  were  usually  fancy 
dress  affairs,  a  form  of  amusement  much  in  vogue. 
A  special  period  was  chosen  for  representation  ; 
this  was  indicated  on  the  card  of  command,  and 
the  recipient  was  requested  to  conform  to  it.  On 
these  occasions  the  Prince  Consort,  who  liked  to 
revive  in  this  way  the  most  famous  periods  in 


QUEEN   VICTORIA'S   BEAUX  JOURS      177 

history,    appeared    crowned    at    Victoria's    side. 
This  afforded  the  Queen  the  satisfaction  of  having 
her  revenge,  for  an  evening  at  least,  on  the  House 
of  Lords  for  refusing  to  let  him  reign  with  her  as 
Philip  of  Spain  had  done  with  Queen  Mary  Tudor. 
She  found  great  enjoyment  in  these  balls,  in 
which   she   and  her    husband  impersonated   the 
greatest   personages  of   the   past.     And   Society, 
which  always  follows  the  lead  of  a  Court,   also 
acquired  a  taste  for  them.     In  those  days,  young, 
happy,  and  in  love  with  a  husband  who  adored  her, 
life  was  like  the  realisation  of  some  wonderful 
dream  to  Victoria.     She  was  a  fine  horse-woman, 
and  was  fond  of  riding  in  Windsor  Forest  accom- 
panied by  thirty  or  forty  people.     Mounted  on 
her  superb  bay  Emperor,  she  was  the  life  and  soul 
of  these  equestrian  jaunts.     Pleasure  appealed  to 
her.     She  was  constantly  seen  at  the  opera  and 
the  play.     For  dramatic  performances  at  Court 
she  had  a  special  liking.     The  reclame  of  these 
performances  was  sufficient  to  ensure  the  success 
of   the   piece   when    acted   in    London.     In    the 
theatrical  profession  a  ''  command ''  performance 
was  regarded  as  tantamount  to  a  public  recogni- 
tion of  talent.      The  Court  thus,  in  sundry  ways, 
as  a  great  Court  should,   helped  to  create  and 
reflect  public  opinion  in  a  manner  that  enhanced 
the  prestige  of  royalty. 

With  the  death  of  the  Prince  Consort  all  this 
was  suddenly  changed.  A  simplicity  of  the 
most  monotonous  description  took  the  place  of 
the  former  splendour.  The  Court  was  still  ex- 
pensive ;  certain  indispensable  formalities  con- 
tinued to  be  observed,  certain  ceremonies  to  be 
12 


178  THE    QUEEN   AND    SOCIETY 

performed ;  but  it  ceased  to  be  brilliant.  Its  only 
lu^cury  was  the  grief  in  which  the  broken-hearted 
Queen  indulged  to  the  exclusion,  at  first,  even  of 
the  business  of  the  State. 

For  five  years  she  lived  in  the  strictest  seclusion. 
When  she  emerged  from  it  her  Court  was  the  mere 
skeleton  of  what  it  had  been.     The  atmosphere 
of  the  grave  in  which  she  had  buried  her  happiness 
and  youth  enveloped  it.     She  was  always  dressed 
in  mourning  and  surrounded  by  elderly  ladies  and 
gentlemen  similarly  attired.     In  close  and  con- 
stant   application    to    state    affairs    she    sought 
forgetfulness.      As    pleasure    reminded    her    too 
bitterly  of  all  she  had  lost,  she  banished  it  from 
the  routine  of  the  Court.     There  were  no  longer 
balls,  concerts,  and  dramatic  performances  as  of 
yore.     Even  at  the  Drawing-rooms  she  delegated 
to  others  the  duty  of  receiving  in  her  name  those 
entitled   to   the   honour   of   presentation   to   the 
Sovereign.     Gone    were    the    gay    cavalcades    in 
Windsor  Forest  in  which  she  had  once  delighted. 
No  fiery  Emperor  now  did  she  ride;   instead,  a 
little  pony  drew  her  about  the  grounds  of  her 
castles  in  a  chaise. 

Formerly  she  had  delighted  to  receive  the 
visits  of  reigning  sovereigns;  now  those  to  whom 
she  extended  hospitality  were  chiefly  discrowned. 
Royal  exiles  could  always  count  on  her  sympathy; 
It  afforded  her  a  sort  of  morbid  solace  to  mingle 
her  sorrow  with  theirs.  Her  visit  of  condolence 
to  the  Empress  Eugenie  on  the  death  of  the 
Prince  Imperial  was  a  pageant  of  woe.  The 
great  homes  of  the  aristocracy  which  she  had 
been   accustomed  to   honour   with   her   presence 


A  GLOOMY  COURT  179 

knew  her  no  more.  When  she  went  abroad  it 
was  on  some  errand  of  mercy  to  the  cottages  of 
the  poor. 

Before  her Jjme  the  life^ojLthgL^Court  had  been 
dissolute.  With  her  jt^hadbecome  exemplary; 
Now  one  died  oi  ennui  in  it.  She  gave  dinners 
novTand  then,  asTfTo  remind  the  Court  that  it 
still  existed ;  but  they  were  so  boring  that  nothing 
was  dreaded  so  much  as  an  invitation  to  them. 
Smoking  was  strictly  forbidden  in  her  palaces 
when  she  was  in  residence. 

Always  a  stickler  for  etiquette  and  propriety, 
she   became   more   exacting   in   regard   to   their 
rigid  enforcement.     The  Baroness  de  Bunsen  re- 
lates that,  having  been  invited  by  telegram  to 
dine  with  the  Queen  when  she  had  a  bad  cold, 
she  had  *'  to  employ  no  little  skill  to  conceal  a 
real   handkerchief   in    the   little   lace   substitute 
that  was  de  rigueur  on  these  occasions."     To  the 
innovations  of  fashion  she  had  a  rooted  objection. 
When  the  Princess  of  Wales  introduced  the  mode 
of  wearing  the  hair  on  the  forehead  she  expressed 
her  disapproval  to  the  ladies  of  her  entourage 
who     sought     to     imitate     her.      Divorcees     she 
positively  refused   to   countenance.     No   woman 
could  be   presented   to   her  whose  conduct  was 
not  irreproachable.     Avoiding  London  as  much 
as  possible,  and  passing  her  secluded  existence 
between    Windsor,    Balmoral,   and    Osborne,  the 
Court   of   Queen   Victoria   practically   ceased   to 
function  with  the  death  of  the  Prince  Consort. 

In  a  monarchy  a  Court  is  a  factor  of  paramount 
importance.  Its  origin  is  by  no  means  due  to 
the  vanity  of  human  nature,  as  so  many,  deceived 


180  THE    QUEEN   AND    SOCIETY 

by  its  apparent  futility,  seem  to  think.  In  early 
times  the  Court  was  a  Council  in  which  the  King 
consulted  his  chieftains  on  all  matters  of  general 
interest  to  the  State.  The  first  courtiers  were 
therefore  counsellors  or  advisers,  which,  in  spite 
of  the  immense  transformation  they  have  since 
undergone,  they  have  never  entirely  ceased  to 
be.  Down  to  the  French  Revolution  it  was  from 
the  Court  that  the  State  was  governed ;  and 
Cabinet  Ministers  even  now,  by  virtue  of  their 
office,  are  still  regarded  as  members  of  the  Court. 
Of  all  the  ceremonies  of  the  Court,  none  are  more 
important  than  those  connected  with  state  affairs. 

It  is,  however,  with  the  social  and  economic, 
rather  than  with  the  official  or  governmental, 
aspects  of  Courts  that  the  average  person  is  the 
more  familiar.  The  Court  has  truly  been  called 
the  ''  shopkeepers'  barometer."  By  its  brilliancy 
or  dullness  the  prosperity  or  depression  of  trade, 
in  the  higher  grades  especially,  can  be  forecast 
to  a  nicety.  It  is  through  the  Court,  too,  that 
the  personal  influence  of  the  Sovereign  is  strongest. 
The  royal  character  is  stamped  on  it  as  distinctly 
as  the  royal  image  on  a  coin.  Thus,  from  the 
Court  through  the  capital,  from  the  capital 
through  the  whole  country,  there  may  flow  forth 
a  subtle  all-pervading,  all-corrupting  example  of 
frivolity  and  folly,  of  luxury  and  licence,  corroding 
the  mind  and  preparing  the  decay  of  a  nation,  or 
an  exactly  opposite  example  with  exactly  opposite 
effects,  as  the  case  may  be. 

The  sudden  suspension  of  the  functions  of 
such  an  institution  which  corresponds  in  an  ever- 
increasing   degree,    as   did   the   Court   of   Queen 


QUEEN  VICTORIA'S   SECLUSION  181 

Victoria,  to  national  aspirations  and  requirements 
is  a  calamity.  In  England  the  morbid  seclusion 
of  the  Queen,  which  was  felt  at  once  politically, 
socially,  and  economically,  produced  the  effect 
of  a  moral  liquidation,  so  to  speak.  Like  the 
winding  up  of  an  old  and  prosperous  business, 
it  created  a  void  which  gave  a  sense  of  discomfort 
and  uncertainty, 

II 

The  bereavement  of  the  Queen  appealed  strongly 
to  popular  sympathy;  but  after  a  decent  period 
of  mourning  it  was  confidently  expected  that  she 
would  resume  her  place  in  the  world  as  before. 
At  first,  so  terrible  was  her  grief,  people  feared  for 
her  reason ;  and,  perhaps,  had  she  occupied  a 
private  station  in  life,  she  might  have  gone  mad. 
Fortunately  the  great  mental  strain  was  made 
tolerable  by  the  necessity  of  attending  personally 
to  the  multifarious  affairs  of  a  great  Empire. 
Before  three  weeks  had  passed  her  ministers, 
between  whom  and  herself  the  Princess  Alice  had 
acted  as  intermediary,  were  obUged  to  remind  her 
that,  as  the  Constitution  made  no  exception  for 
grief,  the  Sovereign  was  bound  to  communicate 
with  them  in  person.  But,  though  compelled  to 
give  her  attention  to  the  business  of  the  country, 
she  utterly  refused  to  quit  her  seclusion,  which 
for  ''  the  two  dreadful  first  years  of  loneliness,'' 
as  she  expressed  it,  was  complete. 

Nothing  proves  more  effectually  the  importance 
of  the  Court  as  an  institution  than  the  attitude 
of  public  opinion  to  her  neglect  of  the  most  essen- 
tial attributes  of  her  position.     When  her  seclusion 


182  THE    QUEEN    AND    SOCIETY 

was  felt  to  be  unduly  prolonged  she  was  told 
openly  by  the  Press  that  her  retirement  was 
contrary  to  the  national  interest.  It  was  declared 
to  be  ''a  breach  of  duty  to  the  public/'  and 
radicals  and  republicans,  who  disliked  monarchical 
institutions,  argued  on  public  platforms  that  such 
a  Court  as  hers  was  out  of  all  proportion  to  its 
advantages. 

The  ceremony  of  opening  Parliament  in  state 
was  a  function  of  the  Court  to  which  Cabinet 
Ministers  attached  the  greatest  importance,  as 
it  most  significantly  reminded  the  public  of  the 
Sovereign's  place  in  the  Constitution.  But  for 
five  years  the  Queen  refused  to  perform  even  this 
ceremony.  As  she  was  known  to  be  in  good  health, 
her  conduct  was  held  to  be  not  only  unjustifiable, 
but  to  diminish  the  dignity  of  the  Government. 

This  was  bitterly  resented  by  the  public,  and 
in  1864  her  failure  to  open  the  new  session  of 
Parliament  in  person  after  it  had  been  announced 
that  she  intended  to  do  so,  ^'  to  please  her  sub- 
jects," caused  great  indignation.  The  coarseness 
and  violence  with  which  she  was  assailed  by  a 
certain  portion  of  the  Press  so  alarmed  Delane, 
the  famous  editor  of  the  Times,  that  he  deemed 
it  advisable  to  warn  her  in  his  powerful  organ 
''  to  encourage  the  hope  that  not  only  will 
Buckingham  Palace  resume  its  place  in  the  world 
of  life,  but  that  Her  Majesty  will  herself  reappear 
as  its  mistress." 

He  reminded  her  that  the  living  had  their 
claims  as  well  as  the  dead,  none  more  imperative 
than  those  of  the  Society  of  one  of  the  first  Euro- 
pean capitals ;  and  that  it  was  impossible  for  a 


'  ,   »  r  J  »  i     ', 


Photo,  Augustin  Rischgitz. 

QU^EN    VICTORIA    ON    HORSEBACK. 
I  {After  Count  d'Orsay.) 


A   SINGULAR  PROTEST  183 

recluse  to  occupy  the  throne  without  weakening 
the  importance  of  the  monarchy.  '*  For  sake  of 
the  Crown  as  well  as  the  pubHc/'  he  wrote,  ''  we 
beseech  Her  Majesty  to  return  to  the  personal 
exercise  of  her  exalted  functions.  It  may  be 
that  in  time  London  may  accustom  itself  to 
do  without  the  palace,  but  it  is  not  desirable 
that  we  should  attain  that  point  of  republican 
simplicity.'' 

In  other  words  the  Sovereign  was  practically 
given  to  understand,  by  the  most  influential  organ 
in  the  country,  that,  if  she  wished  to  keep  her 
throne  and  the  affection  of  her  people,  she  had 
better  *'  go  into  Society.*' 

The  effect  on  the  Queen  was  most  characteristic. 
As  a  *'  cruelly  misunderstood  woman,  whom  the 
Press  attacked  in  a  heartless,  cruel  way,"  she 
determined  to  avail  herself  of  the  privilege  which 
her  subjects  enjoyed  and  to  write  to  the  Times 
herself.  The  relation  between  democracy  and 
royalty  in  England  has  been  characterised  by 
some  very  curious  phenomena,  but  surely  none 
is  more  astonishing  than  the  spectacle  of  Queen 
Victoria  being  roundly  abused  by  her  subjects 
for  not  liking  the  pomps  and  vanities,  and  writing 
to  the  Times  to  protest ! 

A  woman  who  could  write,  as  the  Queen  did, 
to  King  Leopold  after  the  Prince  Consort's 
death — *'  I  am  anxious  to  repeat  one  thing,  and 
that  one  is  my  firm  resolve,  my  irrevocable  decision, 
viz.  that  his  wishes,  his  plans  about  everything, 
his  views  about  everything,  are  to  be  my  law  ! 
And  no  human  power  will  make  me  swerve  " — 
can  be  trusted  to  hold  her  own  at  all  costs. 


184  THE    QUEEN    AND    SOCIETY 

The  Queen's  reply  to  ''  calumny/'  as  she  ex- 
pressed it,  deserves  to  be  quoted  in  full. 

*'  An  erroneous  idea,"  she  wrote,  ''  seems  gene- 
rally to  prevail,  and  has  latterly  found  frequent 
expression  in  the  newspapers,  that  the  Queen  is 
about  to  resume  her  place  in  Society  which  she 
occupied  before  her  great  affliction  ;  that  is,  that 
she  is  about  again  to  hold  Levees  and  Drawing- 
rooms  in  person,  and  to  appear  as  before  at 
Court  balls,  concerts,  etc.  This  idea  cannot  be 
too  explicitly  contradicted. 

*'  The  Queen  heartily  appreciates  the  desire 
of  her  subjects  to  see  her,  and  whatever  she  can 
do  to  gratify  them  in  this  loyal  and  affectionate 
wish  she  will  do.  Whenever  any  real  object  is 
to  be  attained  by  her  appearing  on  public  occa- 
sions, any  national  interest  to  be  promoted,  or 
anything  to  be  encouraged  which  is  for  the  good 
of  her  people.  Her  Majesty  will  not  shrink,  as  she 
has  not  shrank,  from  any  personal  sacrifice  or 
exertion,  however  painful. 

"  But  there  are  other  and  higher  duties  than 
those  of  mere  representation  which  are  now 
thrown  upon  the  Queen,  alone  and  unassisted — 
duties  which  she  cannot  neglect  without  injury 
to  the  public  service,  which  weigh  unceasingly 
upon  her,  overwhelming  her  with  work  and 
anxiety. 

''  The  Queen  has  laboured  conscientiously  to 
discharge  those  duties  till  her  health  and  strength, 
already  shaken  by  the  utter  and  ever-abiding 
desolation  which  has  taken  the  place  of  her 
former  happiness,  have  been  seriously  impaired. 

''  To  call  upon  her  to  undergo,  in  addition,  the 


PUBLIC  RESENTMENT  186 

fatigue  of  those  mere  state  ceremonies  which 
can  be  equally  well  performed  by  other  members 
of  her  family  is  to  ask  her  to  run  the  risk  of 
entirely  disabling  herself  for  the  discharge  of 
those  other  duties  which  cannot  be  neglected 
without  serious  injury  to  the  public  interest. 

*'  The  Queen  will,  however,  do  what  she  can — 
in  the  manner  least  trying  to  her  health,  strength, 
and  spirits — to  meet  the  loyal  wishes  of  her 
subjects,  to  afford  that  support  and  countenance 
to  society,  and  to  give  that  encouragement  to 
trade  which  is  desired  of  her. 

''  More  the  Queen  cannot  do,  and  more  the 
kindness  and  good  feeling  of  her  people  will 
surely  not  exact  from  her." 

This  extraordinary  outburst,  which  reveals  the 
determined  character  of  Victoria  in  every  line, 
only  added  fuel  to  the  flame.  Radical  as  the 
middle  classes  were  at  this  time,  with  wealth  and 
liberty,  they  naturally  hankered  for  those  social 
pleasures  and  advantages  that  give  prosperity  its 
peculiar  glamour.  The  attacks  on  the  Queen 
continued.  Even  Punch,  in  a  cartoon,  portrayed 
the  Queen  as  the  statue  of  Hermione  in  Shake- 
speare's Winter's  Tale,  while  Britannia,  as  Paulina, 
addressed  to  her  the  words  :  ''  Tis  time  ; 
descend ;  be  stone  no  more.'' 

The  complete  indifference  of  Victoria  was  ex- 
asperating; but  after  she  finally  condescended 
to  emerge  from  her  gloomy  seclusion  to  open 
Parliament  in  state  once  more  a  reaction  set  in. 
Voices  began  to  be  raised  in  unexpected  quarters 
in  her  defence.  John  Bright,  hearing  her  de- 
nounced by  a  member  of  Parliament  at  a  Liberal 


186  THE    QUEEN    AND    SOCIETY 

meeting  for  ''  neglect  of  duty/'  eloquently  de- 
fended her. 

*'  I  am  not  accustomed  to  stand  up  in  defence 
of  the  possessors  of  crowns/*  he  said,  ''  but  I 
think  there  has  been,  by  many  persons,  a  great 
injustice  done  to  the  Queen  in  reference  to  her 
desolate  and  widowed  position ;  and  I  venture 
to  say  this,  that  a  woman,  be  she  the  Queen  of  a 
great  realm,  or  the  wife  of  one  of  your  labouring 
men,  who  can  keep  alive  in  her  heart  a  great 
sorrow  for  the  lost  object  of  her  life  and  affection 
is  not  at  all  likely  to  be  wanting  in  a  great  and 
generous  sympathy  with  you/' 

To  the  credit  of  human  nature,  it  is  worth 
recording  that  the  effect  on  the  meeting  of  the 
Radical  orator's  chivalrous  defence  was  dis- 
astrous for  the  member  of  Parliament  whose 
unseemly  denunciation  had  instigated  it.  He 
was  howled  down  when  he  tried  to  explain  his 
words  and  hissed  out  of  the  hall. 

In  royal  circles  much  sympathy  was  expressed 
for  the  Queen. 

*'  Pauvre  Victoire,  ne  la  tourmentez  pas," 
sighed  King  Leopold  when  reading  of  the  way 
she  was  badgered  to  ''  resume  her  place  in  society." 

The  public,  however,  only  ceased  to  worry 
her  about  "Court  balls  and  concerts"  when  it 
managed  to  get  what  it  hankered  for  from  the 
Prince  and  Princess  of  Wales.  An  illness  she 
had  ten  years  after  the  Prince  Consort's  death 
afforded  the  Press,  which  had  got  the  worst  of 
the  quarrel,  an  opportunity  to  make  its  amende 
honorable. 

The  Liberal  Daily  News  (September  15,  1871) 


REMORSE   OF  THE   PRESS  187 

expressed  the  feelings  of  the  Press  and  the  nation 
generally. 

*'  This  illness,"  it  said,  ''  has  given  the  people  a 
glimpse  behind  the  purple,  and  has  assured  them 
that  the  reluctance  of  its  wearer  has  been  due  to 
physical  weakness  and  depression.  There  will, 
therefore,  be  only  one  feeling  among  the  people 
to-day.  They  may  have  caught  from  a  discon- 
tented Court  a  complaining  spirit ;  they  may  have 
been  induced  to  feel  that  the  Queen  was  hardly 
giving  proper  splendour  to  her  queenly  position, 
and  was  showing  some  slackness  in  her  queenly 
duties  ;  but  to-day  all  such  complaints  are  hushed. 
The  nation  is  ashamed  of  them  and  rebukes  itself  for 
uttering  them,  and  feels  nothing  but  an  affectionate 
solicitude  for  her  speedy  recovery.'' 

This  Peccavi  !  obtained  a  characteristic  pardon 
from  the  Queen.  She  wrote  to  Sir  Theodore 
Martin  as  follows :  "  The  Queen  cannot  help 
referring  to  the  articles  in  the  Times  and  Daily 
News,  which  are  very  gratifying,  as  these  go  the 
length  of  expressing  remorse  at  the  heartless, 
cruel  way  in  which  they  had  attacked  the  Queen.*' 

She  had  said  that ''  no  human  power  would  make 
her  swerve,"  and  she  was  true  to  her  resolution. 
She  won  all  along  the  line,  and  had  the  satis- 
faction of  having  the  last  word  into  the  bargain. 

The  explanation  of  this  singular  episode  in  the 
life  of  Queen  Victoria  is  simple  enough.  The 
Court  and  all  it  implied  had  become  a  national 
necessity.  The  English  people  clamoured  for  it 
precisely  as  the  children  of  Israel  had  clamoured 
for  a  king. 


188  THE    QUEEN   AND    SOCIETY 

in 

The  presence  of  the  Sovereign,  although  the 
chief  ornament  of  a  Court,  is  not  absolutely  in- 
dispensable to  the  exercise  of  its  functions.  The 
Queen  had  frequently  been  urged  to  let  the  Prince 
of  Wales  take  her  place  in  Society.  It  was  to 
him,  as  the  newspapers  had  told  her,  that  the 
nation  naturally  looked  to  give  appropriate  ex- 
pression to  its  feelings.  And  the  Queen,  while 
steadfastly  refusing  to  share  her  political  respon- 
sibilities with  her  son,  or  to  suffer  him  to  transact 
any  official  business  in  her  name,  or  even  to 
instruct  him  in  state  affairs,  was  willing  enough 
to  delegate  to  him  the  role  in  the  social  life  of 
the  country  which  was  so  distasteful  to  her. 

The  part  was  one,  as  all  the  world  knows,  for 
which  Edward  VII  was  fitted  by  taste  and  tem- 
perament in  an  exceptional  manner.  And  Fortune, 
whose  favourite  child  he  was,  took  care  to  give 
him  every  facility  to  perform  it  with  a  distinction 
sans  pareil. 

Under  any  circumstances  the  Prince  and 
Princess  of  Wales,  by  virtue  of  their  rank  alone, 
would  have  been  recognised  as  the  natural  repre- 
sentatives of  the  Queen  in  the  discharge  of  the 
social  functions  of  the  Sovereign.  But  when,  to 
their  rank,  was  added  every  quality  that  can  be 
desired  in  the  leadership  of  Society  it  was  not 
long  before  public  opinion,  disregarding  the  Queen 
entirely  in  this  matter,  turned  to  them  on  their 
own  account  for  a  Court. ^ 

1  The  Danes  had  raised,  by  popular  subscription,  100,000  kroner 
as  a  dowry  for  the  Princess,  though  none  had  been  expected 


REVIVAL   OF  THE   SEASON  189 

The  immediate  result  of  their  marriage  was  the 
revival  of  the  London  Season  with  a  briUiancy 
it  had  never  before  possessed.  After  a  nine  days' 
honeymoon  at  Osborne  the  royal  pair  returned 
to  London  and  held  an  *'  evening  reception ''  at 
St.  James's  Palace.  On  all  present  the  affabihty 
and  dignity  of  the  Prince  and  the  grace  and 
beauty  of  the  Princess  made  a  profound  impres- 
sion. It  was  felt  instmctively  that  a  new  regime 
was  being  inaugurated.  The  distinction  of  the 
company,  which  included  all  the  foreign  Princes 
and  Princesses  who  had  come  to  England  for  the 
wedding,  and  the  whole  Corps  Diplomatique ;  the 
etiquette  observed,  at  once  formal  and  picturesque  ; 
the  beautiful  old  palace,  ablaze  with  thousands 
of  wax  lights,  jewels,  decorations,  uniforms,  Court 
dresses,  and  the  magnificent  gold  plate  on  a 
crimson  background  displayed  at  one  end  of  the 
banqueting-hall, — with  the  peculiar  gaiety  that 
reigned, — made  a  scene  very  different  from  those 
associated  with  the  heavy  state  of  former  Vic- 
torian Courts. 

or  demanded  in  England,  In  the  marriage  treaty  concluded 
between  Queen  Victoria  and  Frederick  VII,  it  was  stipulated 
that  the  Princess  should  receive,  as  a  marriage  settlement,  an 
annual  income  of  ;^io,ooo,  to  be  paid  half-yearly.  It  was  also 
arranged  that,  in  case  she  should  have  the  misfortune  to  become 
a  widow,  this  sum  was  to  be  increased  to  ;^3o,ooo,  to  be  paid 
quarterly.  On  the  motion  of  Lord  Palmerston,  Parliament 
had  voted  that  the  Prince  of  Wales  should  receive  an  income  of 
;^40,ooo  a  year,  with  ;;^io,ooo  added  for  the  Princess.  If  to  this 
is  added  the  revenue  of  the  Duchy  of  Cornwall,  the  young  couple 
would  begin  life  on  about  ;^ioo,ooo  a  year.  This  sum,  great  as 
it  seems,  was,  however,  none  too  much  when  one  considers  the 
manner  in  which  they  were  expected  to  live,  and  the  incessant 
calls  of  every  description  made  upon  them  as  the  representatives 
of  the  nation. 


190  THE    QUEEN    AND    SOCIETY 

This  event  was  the  precursor  of  a  succession  of 
social  festivities  such  as  EngHsh  Society  had  not 
been  accustomed  to.  It  was  Hke  the  awakening 
of  spring  after  a  dreary  winter.  There  was  a 
general  feeling  of  gladness  and  buoyancy.  Every- 
where there  were  signs  of  rejuvenation.  Mansions 
long  closed  once  more  threw  open  their  doors, 
and  people  vied  with  one  another  in  entertaining. 
Corporations  and  institutions  caught  the  infection. 
London's  example  was  followed  throughout  the 
country.  It  was  as  if  the  whole  nation  saw  in 
this  restoration  of  the  forms  and  traditions  of 
Society  the  fulfilment  of  its  dearest  desires. 

The  varied  character  of  the  outstanding  events 
of  this  Season  proves  how  closely  the  nation 
identified  itself  with  the  restoration  of  Society. 
The  first  Drawing-room  held  by  the  Princess  of 
Wales  on  behalf  of  the  Queen  was  attended  by 
over  two  thousand  ladies.  The  line  of  carriages 
stretched  from  Cavendish  Square  to  St.  James's 
Palace.  Many  people  started  at  9  o'clock  in  the 
morning  and  waited  in  their  carriages  till  the 
palace  doors  were  opened  at  12.  It  took  four 
hours  for  the  company  to  pass  the  throne. 

'*  The  hustling  and  pressure  were  so  great/' 
says  Lady  St.  Helier,  ''  that  many  gowns  were 
almost  entirely  destroyed  before  the  wearers 
reached  the  presence-chamber  where  the  Princess 
of  Wales  stood.  Punch  was  extremely  witty 
over  it,  and  the  sketches  in  which  he  depicted  the 
scenes  at  the  Drawing-room  were  no  exaggera- 
tion." 

Similar  eagerness  was  displayed  on  the  occasion 
when  the  Prince  of  Wales  received  the  Freedom 


THE  POMP  OF  DEMOCRACY  191 

of  the  City.  In  honour  of  this  event  the  Lord 
Mayor  and  Corporation  of  London  gave  a  grand 
ball  in  the  Guildhall.  This  famous  civic  enter- 
tainment was  a  subject  of  town  talk  for  weeks 
beforehand.  It  was  not  so  much  a  ball  as  a 
pomp  of  democracy,  which,  in  spite  of  its  boasted 
simplicity,  is  prone  to  display.  Fabulous  sums, 
in  the  form  of  grants  to  charities,  were  offered 
for  tickets.  Everything  connected  with  this  event 
was  on  the  most  lavish  scale.  It  was  reputed  to 
have  cost  the  Corporation  £20,000. 

The  rich  interior  of  the  palace  of  the  City 
Fathers  presented  a  scene  that  was  most  unde- 
mocratic. In  the  great  Hall,  on  a  dais  covered 
with  a  rich  carpet,  stood  the  throne  of  the  Prince 
and  Princess.  Above  it  rose  the  Prince's  coronet 
and  feathers,  the  latter  nine  feet  long  and  executed 
in  the  finest  spun  glass,  like  drooping  silver. 
The  Council-chamber,  where  the  supper  was 
served,  presented  a  truly  grand  and  royal  appear- 
ance. Its  pretty  lantern  and  tapering  roof  had 
been  exquisitely  gilded  and  decorated  for  the 
occasion,  and  from  the  four  columns  on  which 
the  dome  rested  hung  large  gilt  baskets  filled 
with  flowers.  The  walls  were  covered  with  superb 
pieces  of  tapestry  designed  by  Giulio  Romano, 
depicting  scenes  from  the  lives  of  Scipio  and 
Hannibal.  One  end  of  the  chamber,  filled  with 
tall  palms  and  ferns,  was  like  a  tropical  garden 
in  the  centre  of  which  a  fountain  cast  a  perfumed 
jet  into  the  air.  Opposite,  the  almost  countless 
wealth  of  the  wealthiest  corporation  the  world 
has  yet  seen  was  displayed  on  a  huge  buffet,  the 
whole  wall  to  the  ceihng  being  hidden  by  massive 


192  THE    QUEEN   AND    SOCIETY 

gold  plate,  over  which  the  statue  of  George  III 
seemed  to  keep  watch  with  outstretched  arms. 

Here,  in  glittering  array,  were  salvers  as  large  as 
baths  ;  quaint  beakers  and  flagons  formed  like 
dragons,  bears,  and  cocks  ;  tall  old  tapering  cups 
of  the  time  of  the  Tudors  with  pointed  lids  like 
spires  ;  salt-cellars  as  big  as  footstools,  made  in 
days  when  these  ancient  emblems  of  hospitality 
were  really  used  to  mark  distinction  as  to  rank, 
— the  Court  sitting  above  and  the  Livery  below 
the  salt.  All  the  City  Companies  had  placed 
their  treasures  at  the  service  of  the  Lord  Mayor 
for  this  occasion.  Silver  plate  had  been  sent 
literally  by  the  ton,  but  none  but  gold  was  allowed 
upon  this  magnificent  buffet. 

Beneath  these  towering  trophies,  accumulated 
through  the  centuries,  was  spread  the  table  for 
the  City's  royal  guests,  in  horseshoe  form.  This 
too,  like  the  buffet,  was  covered  with  the  finest 
specimens  of  the  goldsmith's  craft  which  the 
City  possessed;  while  from  the  ceiling  hung  the 
massive  silver  chandelier  of  the  Fishmongers' 
Company,  illumining  the  entire  chamber  with 
the  soft  light  of  innumerable  wax  candles. 

An  illuminated  picture  of  Bernstorff,  with  the 
Princess  standing  on  the  lawn  in  front  of  her 
old  home,  very  effectively  placed  and  prepared  as 
a  pleasant  surprise,  gave  a  human  touch  to  all 
this  magnificence.  The  grace  with  which  she 
acknowledged  this  unexpected  compliment  would 
have  shaken  the  faith  of  the  most  confirmed 
republican. 

*' No  wonder,"  remarked  a  wit,  ''that  the 
worthy   Aldermen   flopped   themselves   about   in 


MOBBED  198 

an  agony  of  delight,  and  basked  in  her  smiles 
like  their  own  turtles  in  the  sun.'* 

As  usual,  the  fascination  she  exercised  was  the 
topic  of  the  evening.  Dressed  very  simply  in 
white  satin,  which  heightened  her  diaphanous 
beauty,  her  principal  ornament  was  the  £10,000 
diamond  necklace,  the  wedding  gift  of  the  City 
of  London.  She  appeared  radiantly  happy,  and 
danced  frequently  throughout  the  evening. 

Nothing  marred  the  success  of  this  festivity, 
which  for  splendour  was  unequalled  in  the  annals 
of  the  Guildhall.  Over  two  thousand  people  were 
present.  Every  room,  every  passage,  was  filled 
to  overflowing.  To  see  the  Prince  and  Princess 
was  the  object  of  everyone,  who,  not  content 
with  one  glimpse,  would  have  gazed  all  night  on 
the  pair  had  it  been  possible.  Wherever  they 
stood,  sat,  ate,  danced,  or  received  the  formal 
addresses  of  the  evening  the  crush  was  suffocating. 

The  behaviour  of  the  company  was  at  least 
courteous.  This  was  not  always  the  case.  At 
the  Horticultural  Show,  where  the  ticket  of  ad- 
mission was  only  five  shillings,  the  crowd  which 
came  only  to  see  the  Princess  gratified  their 
curiosity  totally  regardless  of  ordinary  politeness, 
pressing  round  her  so  that  she  could  with  diffi- 
culty move,  and  staring  rudely  into  her  face. 

The  visit  of  the  royal  pair  to  Oxford  for  Com- 
memoration, when  the  honorary  degree  of  D.C.L. 
was  conferred  on  the  Prince  of  Wales,  proved  too, 
in  its  way,  how  the  presence  of  royalty  added  to 
the  pleasure  of  every  important  social  function, 
how  essential  it  was  that  the  Sovereign  should 
recognise  the  fact. 
18 


194  THE   QUEEN   AND    SOCIETY 

The  Prince  and  Princess  were  assured  of  a 
warm  welcome,  but  the  ovation  they  received 
astonished  even  those  who  prepared  it. 

An  undergraduate  thus  described  their  entry 
into  Oxford  : 

'*  Commemoration  Day  !  Quotha  !  No  !  Um- 
brella Day !  It  has  been  the  day  of  umbrellas 
and  persistent  rain.  Various  showers  throughout 
the  morning  showed  the  unkindly  disposition  of 
the  weather,  but  its  downpour  was  reserved 
until  the  precise  time  when  the  Prince  and  Princess 
were  proceeding  up  the  High  Street.  A  few 
minutes  after  the  Vice-Chancellor  and  the  most 
distinguished  members  of  the  University  arrived 
at  Magdalen  Bridge,  where  the  address  of  welcome 
was  to  be  presented,  the  royal  cortege  appeared. 

''  There  was  a  momentary  pause  in  order  to 
open  the  carriage  containing  the  Prince  and 
Princess,  which  had  necessarily  been  closed.  At 
this  moment  a  mishap  occurred  which  completely 
ruined  the  whole  effect  of  the  royal  entry  into 
the  city.  Instead  of  the  volunteers  or  police,  or 
both,  keeping  back  the  crowd.  King  Mob  was 
permitted  to  break  through  every  opposition 
and  to  crowd  round  the  Bishops  and  Dons  in  the 
most  confusing  manner.  An  utterly  unseemly, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  ludicrous  scene  followed,  the 
humorous  effect  of  which  was  certainly  improved 
by  the  rain,  which  came  down  with  a  pour  and 
compelled  everyone  who  possessed  an  umbrella 
to  hoist  sail. 

"  You  must  imagine  to  yourself  Archbishops 
and  Bishops  in  their  lawn  sleeves,  scarlet  robes, 
and  most  dignified  attire  ;  Heads  of  Houses  in 


UNDERGRADUATE  ARDOUR  195 

scarlet  and  black  velvet  sleeves  ;  Doctors  in  Pink  ; 
Doctors  in  White ;  D.C.L/s.,  and  M.A/s.,  ad  lib. 
You  must  picture  them  hemmed  in,  jostled, 
pushed,  and  pinned  against  the  sides  of  the  royal 
carriage  by  an  unruly,  shouting,  bawling,  hurrahing, 
but  very  good-natured  and  loyal  mob — and  all  this 
in  the  middle  of  a  bridge,  outlined  by  umbrellas, 
while  the  rain  fairly  pelted  down,  and  did  its  best 
to  spoil  the  beautiful  white  bonnet  of  the  Princess." 

Undergraduate  ardour,  however,  was  not 
damped  by  the  weather.  For  three  hours  before 
the  degrees  were  to  be  conferred  the  Sheldonian 
Theatre  was  ''  packed  like  the  Black  Hole  of 
Calcutta/'  When  at  last  the  Princess  appeared, 
in  all  the  radiance  of  her  beauty,  she  was  greeted 
with  such  an  outburst  of  cheering  as  could  only 
be  produced  by  the  combination  of  lungs  and 
loyalty  in  their  most  perfect  development. 

It  seemed  as  if  she  were  destined  to  stand  in 
front  of  her  elevated  chair  of  state,  beaming  and 
bowing  for  ever.  Vain  was  it  for  her  to  think  of 
sitting.  The  sound  of  cheering  outside  the  theatre 
swelled  the  volume  of  that  within,  and  prolonged 
the  storm  of  applause  with  which  the  Princess  was 
welcomed.  Having  cheered  her  to  the  top  of 
their  bent,  the  students  proceeded  to  cheer  her 
family  in  turn,  with  special  stress  upon  her  brother 
the  King  of  Greece.  Fully  ten  minutes  elapsed 
before  she  was  permitted  to  take  her  seat. 

The  same  scenes  were  repeated  the  following 
day.  During  the  races  on  the  river  the  Balliol 
boat  was  deliberately  upset  in  front  of  the  royal 
barge,  while  the  crew  up  to  their  waists  in  water 
cheered  the  Princess. 


196  THE    QUEEN    AND    SOCIETY 

The  ball  given  by  the  Brigade  of  Guards  with 
which  the  festivities  of  this  unusual  Season 
terminated  was  the  salute  of  the  aristocracy  to 
the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Wales.  Invitations 
were  not  to  be  bought,  as  at  the  democratic 
Guildhall  ball,  at  any  price.  The  two  thousand 
persons  present  were  the  creme  de  la  crime  of 
English  Society.  The  Picture  Gallery  of  the 
National  Exhibition,  then  being  held  in  Cromwell 
Road,  was  chosen  as  the  scene  of  this  function, 
and  neither  pains  nor  money  were  spared  to  ensure 
its  success.  As  the  City  Companies  had  lent  their 
plate  to  embellish  the  Guildhall,  so  the  nobility 
lent  theirs  to  the  Guards  for  the  occasion.  Its 
value  was  estimated  at  two  millions  sterling. 

Such  a  display  of  luxury  and  splendour  had 
never  before  been  seen  in  England.  It  was 
described  as  ''  a  spectacle  that  vied  in  gorgeous- 
ness  with  anything  that  had  been  recorded  of 
the  feasts  of  the  Roman  patricians.''  As  usual, 
the  Princess  in  white  and  glittering  with  emeralds 
and  diamonds,  was  the  bright,  particular  star. 
Nothing  could  surpass  the  charm  of  her  smile 
and  the  grace  of  her  manner  during  the  entire 
evening. 

Here,  too,  in  spite  of  their  high  breeding,  people 
were  with  difficulty  prevented  from  crowding  to 
feast  their  eyes  on  the  royal  pair.  They  seemed 
to  have  established  such  kindly  relations  with  all 
present  that  even  the  severest  rules  of  etiquette 
could  not  check  the  outbursts  of  loyalty  as  they 
withdrew. 

At  the  gala  performance  at  the  Italian  Opera 
in  honour  of  their  marriage,  to  which  the  Prince 


A  NEW  SOCIAL  ERA  197 

and  Princess  went  in  state,  the  enthusiasm  was 
unbounded.  As  the  Princess  took  her  seat  in  the 
royal  box  the  ''  whole  house  rose  at  the  sight 
of  this  lovely  vision  and  cheered  itself  hoarse/' 


All  these  scenes  of  splendour  and  enthusiasm, 
hitherto  unfamiliar  and  foreign  to  English  custom, 
which  characterised  this  brilliant  Season  are  not 
to  be  attributed  merely  to  the  popularity  of  the 
Prince  and  Princess,  nor  to  any  special  desire  to 
pay  homage  to  royalty.  They  were,  in  reality, 
the  precursor  of  a  new  social  era  in  England. 
Their  real  significance  is  to  be  found  in  the  con- 
scious pride  of  the  nation  which  demanded  recog- 
nition commenlur^Ee^  wt^  its  ever- increasing 
prosperity  and  prestige, 

IV 

The  death  of  the  Prince  Consort,  attended  as 
it  was  by  the  retirement  of  Queen  Victoria  from 
active  participation  in  the  social  life  of  the  country, 
marks  not  only  the  close  of  a  period  in  her  reign, 
but  also  coincides  roughly  with  the  end  of  a  stage 
in  the  century  itself.  With  prosperity  due  to 
orderly  government  there  had  come,  as  invariably 
happens,  a  reaction.  Already  in  France  the 
change  was  manifest.  There  the  pomp  of  the 
Second  Empire  gratified  the  self-same  plutocratic 
desires  that  the  commercialised  middle  classes 
had  begun  to  express  in  England. 

The  character  of  the  new  social  life  of  which 
the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Wales  were  the  centre 


198  THE    QUEEN    AND    SOCIETY 

was  very  similar  to  that  which  had  formed  round 
Napoleon  III  and  Eugenie.  The  jpy^oi.Iiving 
was  the  basis  of  both.  This  was  something  more 
than  the  frivolous  caprice  of  an  idle,  pleasure-lov- 
ing society.  In  the^geriodin  which  it  manifested 
itself  it  was .  a  nationaTT^qmrement .  If  the 
happiness  of  the^peoplrTS7"of^Bht)r^^^  be,  the  chief 
object  of  good  government,  the  lighter  side  of 
national  life  is  just  as  important  as  the  serious. 
It  was  the  failure  to  realise  this  which  made 
Queen  Victoria's  seclusion  so  intensely  unpopular 
and  ended  in  the  subversion  by  the  people  them- 
selves of  the  dour  and  dreary  principles  on  which 
the  whole  fabric  of  nineteenth-century  society 
was  based. 

It  is  customary  to  speak_of  the  *'  tinsel  glories  '' 
of  the  SeconS^TE^ire^  The~'^disa5ter~in  which 
it  ende5"~grves"  an^appearance  of  truth  to  this 
reproach  which  is  otherwise  unjustified.  While 
it  lasted  its  prestige  was  supreme,  and  suffered  no 
abatement  till  it  vanished  completely  as  suddenly 
as  it  had  arisen.  During  its  existence  the  Court 
of  the  Empress  Eugenie  was  not  only  French  but 
European.  If  its  brilliancy  was  ''  tinsel,''  so  was 
^-^^^  of^gy^ry  Coait  andSjte~~6ociety  of  e\^ry 
country  in  Europe.  Its  iQfluence_jwasJfeUjeyer^^ 
where.'  TEeluileries  was  the  lode-star  of  Fashion, 
Paris  the  hub  of  pleasure.  And  this  influence  was 
paramount  not  because  of  its  superior  refinement 
anoTulture,  like  that  of  the  Court  of  Louis  XIV, 
but  because,  like  that  of  Marie  Antoinette,  its 
glkdiiess  and  splen^ur  gave  expression  to  wnat 
people  ~everyv^er£]^re_liungering  for,  and  gave 
it  in  tlSeTnost  gracefuTmanner  possible. 


{After  Wintethalter.) 


THE  COURT  OF  EUGENIE  199 

The  want  the  Court  of  the  Tuileries  had  satisfied 
in  European  society  was  too  imperative  to  be 
extinguished  by  the  Franco-Prussian  War.  De- 
mocracy, whose  tastes  in  the  course  of  the  century, 
from  being  those  of  a  petit  bourgeois  became 
those  of  a  parvenu,  required  a  substitute.  It 
found  this  ready  to  hand  in  the  *'  Marlborough 
House  set.''  The  sceptre  of  Society  passed  from 
Paris  to  London,  tTie~mantle  of  Fashion  fell  upon 
the  Prince  of  Wales.  The  Edwardian  era  practi- 
cally began  with  the  Flight  of  the  Empress. 

The  supr^iQacyjof  -the  iiew-Englis]i_CQurt,  like 
that  of  its  French  predecessor,  waj  based  on  the 
chief  characteristic  of^the  age — the  trend  to- 
wardsTntBrnationalism,  democracy's  great  ideal. 
The  Court  of  the  Tuileries  had  been  exotic,  that 
of  the  Prince  of  Wales  was  cosmopolitan.  The 
dinS^eiice'vi^cKeilyone  of  leadership. 

The  real  defect  of  Eugenie's  Court  was  that  it 
did  not  sufficiently  represent  the  French  nation. 
Though  it  had  every  quality  that  could  charm 
the  senses,  its  pageants  were  never  wholly  popular. 
It  divided  rather  than  united  the  country.  The 
enemies  of  the  Empire  could  not  forgive  it  its 
origin.  Royalists  and  Republicans  alike  avoided 
the  Tuileries,  and  the  Empress  did  nothing  to 
win  them.  She  was  essentially  a  leader  of 
Fashion,  and  when  she  aspired  to  direct  the 
policy  of  the  State  she  became  merely  the  leader 
of  a  political  party. 

The  Prince  of  Wales  had  the  benefit  of  the 
Empress's  mistakes,  and  was  fortunately  able 
to  take  advantage  of  them.  Thanks  to  his  rigid 
exclusion  from  politics  and  the  versatility  of  his 


200  THE    QUEEN    AND    SOCIETY 

interests,  he  identified  himself  with  the  entire 
Hfe  of  the  nation,  and  not  with  that  of  any  one 
class  or  party.  Amiable  and  ungrudging  of  his 
time  and  trouble,  he  was  to  be  seen  all  the 
year  round  journeying  hither  and  thither,  laying 
foundation-stones,  opening  bridges,  hospitals, 
etc.  Imbued  with  the  joy  of  living,  he  carried 
its  incentive  everywhere.  Such  men  naturally 
take  the  lead.  Though  his  mother  jealously 
retained  the  prerogatives  of  royalty,  he  assumed 
its  obligations  and  exercised  its  influence. 

Without  seeking  to  impose  his  tastes  or  ideas 
upon  anybody,  his  ascendancy  was  such  that  they 
were  adopted  as  a  matter  of  course.  The  cut 
of  his  clothes  was  pronounced  impeccable ;  his 
gloves,  his  ties,  his  hats  were  servilely  copied. 
Arbiter  of  etiquette  as  well  as  of  fashion,  his  least 
opinion  had  the  force  of  a  decree. 

Picture  this  influence  directed  to  philanthropy 
and  matters  of  public  utility,  and  one  can  realise 
how  valuable  his  patronage  was.  He  had  but 
to  advocate  a  plan  for  it  at  once  to  become  a 
necessity.  Societies  and  institutions  of  all  de- 
scriptions— intellectual,  scientific,  industrial,  chari- 
table, religious — solicited  his  aid.  Those  to  which 
he  gave  his  patronage  always  prospered.  A 
steady  stream  of  gold  inundated  all  he  under- 
took. 

In  all  this  he  was  ably  assisted  by  his  wife. 
The  cachet  of  her  patronage  was  no  less  eagerly 
sought.  To  imitate  her  was  the  height  of  hon  ton. 
Even  her  very  defects  were  copied.  Temporarily 
lamed  by  an  attack  of  rheumatism,  she  was 
obliged  to  use  a  cane  in  walking.     At  once  canes 


THE   "ALEXANDRA  LIMP"  201 

became  the  rage,  and  for  three  months  all  Society 
cultivated  the  ''  Alexandra  limp." 

The  interest  she  excited  was  unbounded.  Her 
mere  presence  gave  an  indescribable  eclat  to  every 
public  or  social  gathering.  It  was  sufficient  to 
announce  that  the  Princess  of  Wales  would  be 
present  somewhere  for  the  world  to  flock  there. 
Crowds  stood  in  the  Park  all  the  afternoon  waiting 
to  catch  a  glimpse  of  her  ever-girlish  face  as  she 
passed.  An  unexpected  visit  she  paid  to  a  slum 
had  the  effect  of  turning  a  Socialist  meeting  into 
a  demonstration  of  loyalty. 

There  was  a  strange  thrill  in  her  charm,  a 
quickening  of  the  pulses,  a  sense  of  elevation,  a 
sort  of  mental  and  moral  uplift.  Under  the  spell 
of  her  sympathetic  smile  one  felt  capable 
of  achieving  incredible  things  for  her  sake. 
Foreigners,  amazed  at  such  infatuation,  declared 
that  all  England  had  fallen  in  love  with  the 
Princess  of  Wales. 

Mere  popularity  is  too  banal  and  evanescent  to 
explain  this  fascination.  The  attraction  of  the 
Princess  was  permanent.  It  endured  because  it 
was  a  part  of  the  personality  from  which  it 
emanated. 


The  manner  in  which  jthe  Prince  of  Wales 
performedjthe  rinties  his  mnther  delegated  to4um 
easily  silenced  hostile  criticism.  Much  is  con- 
donedHi^a  prmce  to  whom  a  nation  owes  so  many 
^lid  advantages.  The  lead  he  gavewaFThe 
lead  that  the  nation  and  the  age  alike  indicated. 
He  was  not  so  much  a  leader  as  a  representative. 


202  THE    QUEEN   AND    SOCIETY 

Insensibly,  outworn  conventions  disappeared  and 
barriers  were  thrown  down.  The  aristocracy, 
which  had  formerly  rigidly  excludeB^  the  ricff" 
niiddlexlass^s  and  the  Jews,  was  now  composed 
of  both.  Few  prejudices  survived  the  contact. 
Having  ceased  to  demand  ''  Who  are  you  ?  ''  as 
it  had  done  at  the  beginning  of  the  century, 
Society  soon  forgot  to  ask,  "  What  are  you 
worth  ?  ''  and  by  the  end  of  the  century  only 
inquired.  ''  Can  you  amuse  us  ?  ''  The  answer 
came  from  every  quarter  of  the  globe.  The 
London  Season  thus  became  an  international 
institution. 

How  far  this  transformation  of  English  Society 
was  due  to  the  retirement  of  Queen  Victoria  is 
a  moot  point.  Undoubtedly  it  accelerated  the 
change,  but  it  was  not  the  only  cause.  The 
incentive  already  existed  before  her  time.  It 
can  be  traced  in  the  prudery  which  passed  for 
virtue  that  characterised  the  rise  of  democracy 
to  power.  It  was  the  temptation  of  pleasure 
that  gave  such  strength  to  the  indignation  excited 
by  the  morals,  or  lack  of  morals,  of  the  Regency. 
In  those  days  this  temptation  proceeded  from  the 
Court,  and  thereby  gave  an  additional  stimulus 
to  the  prevailing  revolutionary  ideas.  These 
were  religious  as  well  as  political,  and  were  only 
to  be  effectively  opposed  by  a  powerful  moral 
example,  which,  if  the  monarchy  was  to  be  main- 
tained, must  be  set  by  the  Court. 

It  was  with  this  object  in  view  that  Queen 
Victoria  took  such  care  in  choosing  a  wife  for 
her  heir.  She  was,  however,  too  puritanical 
herself  not  to  be  in  complete  sympathy  with  the 


VICTORIAN  MORALITY  208 

stern  moral  code  of  Early  Victorian  England.  Not 
only  did  she  rigidly  support  public  opinion  in 
this  matter,  but  even  opposed  it  when,  wearying 
of  its  attitude,  which  was  based  on  political 
antipathy  rather  than  on  real  spiritual  convic- 
tion, it  attempted  to  lower  its  standard. 

In  making  moraHty  the  talisman  of  the  monar- 
chical principle  she  displayed  a  remarkable  under- 
standing of  the  English  character.  To  English  ears 
this  word  has  a  Mosaic  significance.  It  symbolises 
the  *'  Law  and  the  Prophets,''  and  implies  a 
belief  in  punishment  as  essential  to  justice. 
It  is  at  once  a  threat  and  a  challenge.  With 
Morality  inscribed  on  your  banner  you  can  make 
Evil  appear  Good.  To  analyse  it,  to  question 
it,  is  a  sort  of  sacrilege.  Many  a  sham  virtue 
has  concealed  itself  under  its  mask.  That  is 
why  in  England,  more  than  in  other  countries, 
the  innocent  are  so  often  made  to  suffer  for  the 
guilty. 

But  Morality  merely  penalises  without  check- 
ing. In  itself  it  is  no  deterrent.  It  was  power- 
less to  check  the  laxity  with  which  public  opinion 
viewed  the  transition  of  the  bourgeois  simplicity  of 
the  Early  Victorian  era  into  the  plutocratic 
ostentation  of  the  Later  Victorian  period.  In 
this  transition  little  was  required  to  turn  licence 
into  corruption. 

It  is  just  here  that  one  realises  how  powerful 
was  the  influence  that  the  Princess  of  Wales 
exerted  on  the  brilliant  cosmopolitan  Society  over 
which  she  and  her  husband  presided  for  so  many 
years.  This  influence  was  quite  silent,  and  devoid 
of  any  suggestion  of  the  severity  that  made  the 


204  THE    QUEEN    AND    SOCIETY 

old  Queen's  example  seem  like  a  perpetual  rebuke. 
It  consisted  solelyinthejn-e  ^-PP^^l  of 

sympathetic  and  unagected  goodness . 

That,  coming  as  sheaid~to  England  young  and 
inexperienced,  she  should  have  remained  unspoilt 
by  all  the  flattery  with  which  she  was  continually 
censed  is  remarkable.  But  if  she  kept  a  level 
head  it  certainly  did  not  arise  from  insensibility. 
The  natural  goodness  of  her  heart  was  well  forti- 
fied by  good  sense.  ''  She  has  a  look  of  great 
intelligence  beyond  that  of  a  merely  pretty  girl/' 
wrote  Lady  Waterford,  a  critical  observer,  on 
seeing  her  for  the  first  time.  Charles  Dickens 
also  remarked  this  quality.  Indeed,  at  her  wed- 
ding it  was  the  general  impression  that  *'  the 
intelligence  of  her  expression  was  as  striking  as 
the  beauty  of  her  features.'' 

When  complimented  on  the  wonderful  reception 
she  had  received  on  her  arrival  in  London  she 
replied,  ''  Yes,  it  was  all  very  splendid.  But  it 
was  for  the  sake  of  the  Queen  and  the  Prince  of 
Wales.  The  English  people  do  not  know  me  yet— 
they  have  to  learn." 

The  answer  implied  that  she  meant  to  win 
their  love  for  herself.  This  desire  to  be  loved 
was  inherent  in  her.  It  is  related  of  her  that, 
being  asked  once,  when  a  little  girl,  what  she 
would  Hke  most,  she  had  repHed  simply,  *'  To  be 
loved." 

Considjering^the  trend  of  the  times  after  she 

came  to  Englang7  there  is  much  toindicate  that, 

lad  she 'Beeii""'other  thaiTsEe^  was,  both  the  Court 

id  the  nation  itself  wouTd  have  yielded  to  the 
insidious  teinptations  that  beset 'luxurious  civili- 


WHAT  THE  QUEEN  ACCOMPLISHED      205 

sations.  It  i^Jhejpiality  of  such  natures  as  hers 
to  purify  those  they  influence.  The  credit  is 
due  to  her  in  no  small  measure  not  only  that  she 
gave  dignity  to  a  particularly  splendid  and 
luxurious  Court,  but  that  she  kept  its  fame 
untarnished. 

Chosen  to  save  the  Throne  from  the  peril  of 
another  Regency,  she  saved  both  the  monarchy 
and  the  people  from  that  fate. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE  QUEEN  AND  THE  PEOPLE 

I.  THE  MANIFOLD  DUTIES  OF  ROYALTY THEIR  FATIGUE THEIR  COM- 
PENSATION  POLITICAL  VALUE  OF  ROYAL  VISITS THE  PRINCE  AND  PRIN- 
CESS OF  WALES  IN   IRELAND EXTRAORDINARY  SUCCESS  OF  THEIR  IRISH 

VISITS FAILURE    OF    THE    GOVERNMENT    TO    TAKE    ADVANTAGE    OF    IT. 

II.    THE    VISIT    OF    THE    PRINCE    AND    PRINCESS    TO    BIRMINGHAM THE 

ULTRA-RADICAL  MAYOR DOUBTS  AS  TO  THE  WISDOM  OF  THE  VISIT — THE 

CHARM  OF  THE  PRINCESS ITS  EFFECT  ON  THE  POPULACE THE  WARMTH 

OF    THE    mayor's    WELCOME PUNCH'S  CARTOON THE   PRINCESS   TRIMS 

THE  CLAWS  OF  THE  LION REMARKABLE  RESULT  OF  THE  VISIT.      III.    THE 

VALUE  OF  THE  QUALITY  OF  MERCY THE  RIGHT  OF  PERSONAL  APPEAL 

TO  THE  SOVEREIGN THE  IMPORTANCE  ATTACHED  TO  IT  IN  FORMER  TIMES 

ITS  RESTRICTION THE  DEMOCRATIC  SUBSTITUTE ITS  CALLOUSNESS 

WHAT     THE     PEOPLE    HAVE    LOST THE    SYMPATHY    OF    ROYALTY    FOR 

THE    PEOPLE IMMENSE    IMPORTANCE    OF    ROYAL    PATRONAGE QUEEN 

ALEXANDRA'S  PHILANTHROPIC  WORK WHAT  THE  NURSING  PROFESSION 

OWES    TO   HER IMPORTANCE   AND   APPRECIATION    OF   HER   INTEREST   IN 

THE  WORK   OF  THE  HOSPITALS HER  GENEROSITY  AND   KEEN  SENSE  OF 

PITY.      IV.    THE  queen's  HORROR  OF  CRUELTY — HER  LOVE  OF  ANIMALS 

HER    COURAGE    AND    COOLNESS    IN    THE    FACE    OF    DANGER.      V.    THE 

QUEEN    AS    A    MUSICIAN HER    LOVE    OF    MUSIC    AND    APPRECIATION    OF 

MUSICAL  GENIUS HER  PATRONAGE  OF  THE  OPERA WHAT  THE  MUSICAL 

PROFESSION   IN   ENGLAND   OWES   TO   HER THE  DEGREE   OF  DOCTOR   OF 

MUSIC   CONFERRED   ON   THE   QUEEN. 


In  these  modern  days,  when  a  king  is  regarded 
as  the  chief  servant  of  a  State,  royalty  obviously 
implies  service.  What  were  once  royal  favours 
are  noW  royal  duties.  These  may  be  classified 
roughly  as  official  and  unofficial. 

The  former  are  entirely  ceremonial,  and  are 
concerned  with  all  that  appertains  to  the  main- 
tenance of  the  dignity  of  the  State  at  home  or 
its  prestige  abroad.  The  latter  are  utihtarian, 
and  include  everything  which,  by  the  exercise 
of  royal  patronage,  or  the  presence  of  the  sovereign 

206 


DUTIES   OF  ROYALTY  207 

or  his  representatives,  tends  to  the  financial  and 
social  advantage  of  the  people. 

To  discharge  them  conscientiously — and  it  is 
on  their  conscientious  discharge  that  royalty's 
existence  in  a  modern  democratic  State  mainly 
depends — ^it  is  as  necessary  to  pay  as  much 
attention  to  the  laying  of  a  foundation-stone  or 
the  opening  of  a  bazaar  as  to  the  reception  of  a 
foreign  guest  or  some  equally  and  purely  cere- 
monial function. 

Nor  is  conscientiousness  all  that  is  required. 
In  an  article  on  the  Silver  Wedding  of  the  Prince 
of  Wales  the  writer  thus  sums  up  what  had  been 
expected  of  him  : 

''  A  multitude  of  social  duties  which  none  but 
a  strong  man  could  have  borne,  and  none  but  a 
man  of  genial  temper  and  admirable  business 
capacity  could  have  performed  without  much 
friction ;  to  travel  here  and  there  to  lay  founda- 
tion-stones, or  open  public  buildings,  and  to 
preside  at  innumerable  public  meetings ;  to  dis- 
tribute the  valuable  favour  of  his  patronage  with 
unfailing  discretion ;  to  take  his  share,  and  not 
more  than  his  share,  in  the  pleasures  of  Society ; 
and  to  do  all  this  in  the  right  way  year  after 
year  with  self-possession  and  without  self-con- 
sciousness, with  just  enough  and  not  too  much 
assertion  of  authority, — this  has  been  the  problem 
of  the  Prince  of  Wales's  public  life. 

'"  That  he  has  been  able  to  achieve  all  this  is 
due  to  his  ever-fresh  interest  in  life,  and  his 
power  of  looking  and  seeming  always  happiest  in 
the  particular  thing  he  had  to  do.'* 

To   those,   however,   who   do  not   possess  his 


$108        THE    QUEEN   AND    THE    PEOPLE 

exceptional  qualifications  the  similarity  of  these 
duties,  to  which  little  personal  interest  is  attached, 
and  the  frequency  with  which  they  recur,  are 
calculated  to  render  their  discharge  not  only 
extremely  irksome  but  to  blight  all  sense  of 
individuality. 

Queen  Victoria,  to  whom  they  were  all  equally 
boring,  frankly  refused  to  endure  their  fatigue. 
Many,  indeed,  often  wonder  how  royalty  can  be 
induced  to  perform  them  at  all.  In  former  times 
they  would  not  have  been  tolerated.  One  cannot 
imagine  Louis  XIV,  for  instance,  putting  himself 
to  the  slightest  inconvenience  to  open  a  public 
building  or  even  to  honour  with  his  presence 
the  table  of  a  great  nobleman.  Fouquet  and 
Madame  de  Maintenon  were  the  only  persons 
whose  hospitality  he  condescended  to  accept  in 
the  course  of  his  reign.  The  former  was  his 
chief  minister  and  the  latter  his  wife.  The  royal 
presence  in  those  days  was  jealously  guarded, 
and  the  patronage  of  kings,  when  obtained,  was 
conferred  by  royal  decree. 

But,  however  tiresome  laying  foundation-stones, 
presiding  at  public  meetings,  and  other  similar 
things  may  seem  to  ordinary  mortals,  they  are 
not  without  their  compensations.  Very  few  will 
deny  that  the  steps  of  a  throne  are  on  the  whole 
an  enviable  place.  There  is  a  fascination  about 
a  princely  life  that  counteracts  its  wear  and  tear. 
Royal  personages  have  one  experience  of  life 
that  is  peculiarly  their  own— they  get  the  best 
of  everything.  It  would  be  curious  to  know  the 
effect  on  their  minds  of  this.  For  lesser  people 
the  ''  best ''  is  but  a  piecemeal  acquisition.     Here 


THE   GLAMOUR  OF  ROYALTY  209 

and  there  they  may  secure  the  coveted  thing — 
pictures,  gems,  horses,  or  some  other  item  in  the 
inventory  of  the  pride  of  life.  But  royal  per- 
sonages can  only  by  accident  know  what  it  is  to 
have  the  ''  second  best,''  and  thus  to  a  certain 
extent  miss  the  pleasure  of  a  slowly  satisfied 
desire. 

There  is,  too,  in  the  very  glamour  of  royalty  a 
subtle  flattery  that  few  can  withstand.  The 
London  correspondent  of  a  provincial  paper,  in 
describing  a  Court  ball  given  by  the  Prince  and 
Princess  of  Wales  during  the  vSeason  of  1891,  said  : 

''  So  irresistible  and  unfailing  is  the  attractive 
power  of  royalty  that,  though  the  vast  majority 
of  those  who  attended  the  ball  had  attended 
it  all  their  lives,  they  still  crowded  into  the 
dancing-room  with  as  much  eagerness  as  if  they 
had  never  entered  it  before.  This  was  not  for 
the  sake  of  the  dancing,  for  not  more  than  two 
or  three  sets  of  lancers  go  on  at  once,  and  the 
space  for  waltzing  is  proportionately  limited. 
To  gaze  at  the  Royalties  as  they  sit  on  the  dais, 
or  pirouette  in  front  of  it,  was  the  supreme  and 
satisfying  object  of  universal  effort." 

Such  a  power  denotes  influence.  The  duties 
of  royalty  possess  all  the  attributes  of  propaganda. 
Even  the  laying  of  a  foundation-stone  may 
exercise  a  powerful  effect  on  the  imagination. 
The  political  value  of  such  an  influence  is  evident, 
and  Governments  continually  seek  to  turn  it 
to  advantage.  Royal  visits  are  the  means  usually 
employed  to  obtain  this  end. 

It  was  with  the  object  of  effecting  a  reconcili- 
ation between  England  and  Ireland,  and  not 
14 


210   THE  QUEEN  AND  THE  PEOPLE 

from  any  personal  motive,  that  the  Prince  and 
Princess  of  Wales  visited  Ireland  together  for 
the  first  time  in  1868.  If  this  reconciliation  had 
depended  only  on  the  "  irresistible  and  unfailing 
power  of  royalty "  it  would  unquestionably 
have  been  brought  about  on  this  occasion.  Not 
since  the  Union  had  Ireland  manifested  such 
loyalty.  The  admiration  aroused  by  the  Princess, 
of  whom  so  much  had  been  heard,  was  the  chief 
contributing  factor. 

The  royal  entry  into  Dublin  was  a  scene  of 
indescribable  enthusiasm.  At  the  special  request 
of  the  Prince,  no  troops  lined  the  route.  This 
reliance  on  the  chivalrous  and  hospitable  spirit  of 
the  Irish  was  fully  appreciated  by  the  warm- 
hearted people,  who,  by  their  spontaneous  recogni- 
tion of  what  was  due  to  their  royal  visitors,  kept  a 
passage  clear  for  the  cortege,  ''  closing  in  behind 
as  it  passed  like  the  sea  in  the  wake  of  a  ship  that 
cleaves  it.'* 

In  less  than  five  minutes  the  Princess  had 
passed  her  probation  in  popularity.  The  excitable 
crowds  that  on  the  night  of  her  marriage,  five 
years  before,  had  rioted  in  the  streets  and  pulled 
down  the  decorations  in  her  honour  now  escorted 
her  with  shouts  of  joy.  They  rained  blessings  on 
her  lovely  face  and  called  on  all  the  saints  to 
protect  her  as  they  ran  beside  her  carriage. 
Heaven  knows  what  ''  evils "  they  may  have 
''  touched  ''  as  her  fingers  were  grasped  by  rugged 
hands  !  Two  or  three  clinging  to  the  sides  of  the 
carriage  had  their  coat-tails  torn  off,  but  held  on 
regardless,  laughing  and  cheering,  up  to  the  gates 
of  the  Castle. 


ROYALTY  AND  IRELAND       211 

At  Punchestown  Races  the  arrival  of  the  royal 
party  was  hailed  by  such  a  *'  shouting  and  rejoicing 
as  were  never  heard  even  on  Ascot  Cup  Day/' 
Wherever  she  went  the  Princess  was  greeted  with, 
"Harro  for  the  Countess  of  Dublin T'  ''Sure, 
won't  ye  stay  with  us,  or  promise  ye'U  come  back 
soon  and  stop  for  ever  ?  " 

It  is  worth  noticing,  as  a  curious  and  somewhat 
inexplicable  fact,  that  there  was  never  so  little 
crime  of  any  kind  to  call  for  the  notice  of  the 
police  as  there  was  during  this  visit.  Drunken- 
ness disappeared  from  the  streets,  the  night 
charges  were  almost  nil.  It  seemed  as  if  the 
whole  people  had  entered  into  a  compact  with 
their  consciences. 

Who  shall  say  what  the  effect  might  not  have 
been  on  the  susceptible  Irish  heart  if  the  British 
Government  had  permitted  royalty  an  unfettered 
use  in  Ireland  of  the  prerogatives  which  it  so 
jealously  curtailed  in  England  ?  Democracy,  to 
realise  its  ideal,  must  sacrifice  itself,  like  Christ ! 
It  is  the  only  sure  way. 

On  every  subsequent  occasion  that  the  Prince 
and  Princess  of  Wales  visited  Ireland,  both 
before  and  after  their  Coronation,  they  were 
invariably  greeted  by  the  masses  with  the  wildest 
enthusiasm,  regardless  of  the  political  state  of 
the  country  at  the  time.  But,  beyond  establish- 
ing the  personal  popularity  of  the  royal  pair,  the 
British  Government  accomplished  nothing  by 
their  visits.  It  merely  squandered  the  royal 
influence  which  it  honestly  and  sincerely  desired 
to  profit  by.  The  result  is  one  which  every  spend- 
thrift achieves.    A  nation  that  is  careless  of  the 


212   THE  QUEEN  AND  THE  PEOPLE 

value  of  any  asset  it  possesses,  however  small  it 
may  appear,  will  sooner  or  later  discover,  to  its 
cost,  that  all  its  assets  have  lost  their  value. 


II 

In  this  connection  the  royal  visit  to  Birming- 
ham in  1874  is  peculiarily  interesting. 

Strange  as  it  may  seem  now,  in  those  dim  and 
distant  days  this  redoubtable  Tory  stronghold, 
this  cradle  of  British  Imperialism,  was  the  centre 
of  militant  Radicalism  in  England.  Even  a 
Conservative  there,  it  was  said,  answered  to  an 
ordinary  Liberal  elsewhere.  Joseph  Chamberlain, 
the  Mayor,  was  a  Radical  of  the  most  pronounced 
type.  He  had  even  called  himself  a  Republican, 
and  publicly  advocated  giving  every  working 
man  ''  three  acres  and  a  cow."  *  He  had  immense 
power  over  the  masses,  and  he  was  believed  to 
be  sincere.  The  announcement,  therefore,  that 
the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Wales  were  to  visit 
Birmingham  in  state  as  the  guests  of  the  Re- 
publican Mayor  of  the  ultra-Radical  city  gave 
the  whole  country  a  thrill  of  excitement. 

Though  great  preparations  were  made  to  receive 
them  officially,  it  was  expected  that  they  would 
have  a  cool  reception,  particularly  as  the  elec- 
tions which  had  taken  place  the  previous  week 
were  still  ''  hot  in  the  mouth,''  as  one  paper 
remarked.  Nevertheless,  neither  indifference  nor 
antagonism  to  royalty  prevented  people  from 
flocking    into    Birmingham    from    all    over    the 

^  Though  Mr.  Jesse  CoUings  is  reputed  to  be  the  author  of 
this  famous  phrase,  JVIr.  Chamberlain  made  effective  use  of  it 
to  illustrate  his  policy. 


THE  PRINCESS  AND  THE  MAYOR         218 

Black  Country  to  ''  see  the  show/'  It  was 
estimated  that  the  population  of  the  city,  then 
about  360,000,  was  doubled  on  the  day  of  the 
royal  visit.  The  curiosity  was  as  great  as  it 
was  when  Mayor  Petion  was  presented  to  Marie 
Antoinette  during  the  French  Revolution. 

There  was  a  good  deal  of  cheering  as  the 
Prince  and  Princess  drove  through  the  streets  to 
the  Town  Hall,  where  they  lunched  with  the 
Mayor  and  the  Corporation,  but  certainly  nothing 
like  the  noise  such  a  crowd  could  have  made  had 
it  done  its  best.  A  great  many  hats  were  never 
lifted.  But  if  the  crowds  lacked  enthusiasm  it  was 
because  the  vast  majority  of  persons,  who  had 
never  in  their  lives  seen  the  Prince  and  Princess 
of  Wales,  were  too  intent  staring  with  eyes  and 
mouths  wide  open  to  think  of  cheering  or  waving 
hats.  When  the  procession  repassed  later  it 
was  cheered  to  the  last  Lancer  of  the  escort. 
''  The  lovely  Princess  had  won  the  heart  of  the 
Radical  city  as  she  bowed  right  and  left  with 
her  grave,  sweet  smile." 

As  for  the  ''  Republican ''  Mayor,  in  the  speech 
with  which  he  welcomed  the  royal  pair  at  the 
Town  Hall,  he  said :  ''  Here  in  England  the 
Throne  is  recognised  and  respected  as  the  symbol 
of  all  constituted  and  settled  government.'' 

Such  a  statement,  coming  from  such  a  man,  was 
tantamount  to  a  public  recantation  of  the  faith 
he  had  previously  professed. 

''  We  have  heard  and  chronicled  a  great  many 
Mayors'  speeches,"  observed  the  Times  in  report- 
ing it,  ''  but  we  do  not  know  that  we  ever  heard  or 
chronicled  speeches  made  before  royal  personages 


214   THE  QUEEN  AND  THE  PEOPLE 

by  Mayors,  whether  they  were  Tories,  or  Whigs, 
or  Liberals,  or  Radicals,  couched  in  such  a  tone 
at  once  of  courteous  homage,  manly  independence, 
and  gentlemanly  feeling  which  were  so  perfectly 
becoming  and  so  much  the  right  thing  in  every 
way  as  that  of  Mr.  Chamberlain." 

Punch  expressed  the  general  opinion  in  a  famous 
cartoon  which  depicted  him  as  a  lion  having  his 
claws  trimmed  by  the  Princess  of  Wales.  But 
though  shop-windows  all  over  England  abounded 
in  caricatures  of  him,  and  the  Press  sarcastically 
derided  him  as  a  ''  perfect  courtier,*'  Birmingham 
remained  loyal  to  him. 

Perhaps  he  was  never  really  a  Republican,  any 
more  than  many  a  present-day  politician  who 
labels  himself  as  such  is  a  Socialist,  and  perceiving, 
like  the  equally  astute  Sir  Charles  Dilke,  that 
the  republican  movement  of  which  he  had 
availed  himself  to  enter  politics  was  dead,  desired 
to  divest  himself  publicly  of  a  reputation  which 
now  prevented  his  political  advancement.  If  so, 
he  could  not  have  chosen  an  occasion  better 
calculated  to  achieve  his  purpose. 

In  any  case,  from  the  date  of  the  royal  visit 
'*  a  change  came  over  the  spirit  of  the  dream '' 
of  Joseph  Chamberlain  and  Birmingham. 

Ill 

In  former  times  the  quality  of  mercy  was  one 
of  the  chief  attributes  of  sovereignty.  Of  all 
the  royal  prerogatives,  it  was  one  of  the  most 
jealously  guarded  and  frequently  exercised.  It 
implied,  too,  the  right   of   appeal  to  the  royal 


"A    BRUMMAGEM    IJON." 
{From  "  Punch,"  November  14,  1874.) 


THE  QUALITY  OF  MERCY  215 

clemency,  which  was  almost  the  only  privilege 
that  the  people  retained  under  the  old  absolute 
monarchies.  The  humblest  could,  and  did,  peti- 
tion the  king  personally,  and  seldom  without 
success.  The  result  was  to  render  the  idea  of 
personal  government,  depending  as  it  did  on  the 
character  of  the  sovereign,  appear  something 
concrete  and  comprehensible.  The  tyrant,  how- 
ever cruel,  was  after  all  human  and  finite.  In 
this  lay  the  weakness  of  the  old  theory  of  personal 
rule,  and  in  the  end  contributed  to  its  overthrow. 
Ideas,  to  survive,  must  be  abstract.  This  explains 
why  the  religions  of  the  world  invariably  endure 
longer  than  theories  of  government. 

It  is  because  democracy  is  an  abstract  idea  that 
it  is  so  powerful.  Its  influence  is  immaterial, 
theocratic ;  it  suggests  something  invisible  and 
relentless.  Like  all  ideas  from  which  the  personal 
element  is  excluded,  it  is  sacrificial.  Its  com- 
plete supremacy  would  mean,  not  the  subjection, 
but  the  extinction  of  the  human  will. 

Already  this  tendency  can  be  traced  in  the 
manner  in  which  a  democratic  State  exercises  the 
quality  of  mercy  it  has  usurped  from  royalty. 
The  mercy  of  the  State  is  purely  mechanical 
and  impersonal.  It  is  no  longer  a  case  of  some 
wretched,  powerless  individual  appealing  to  the 
clemency  of  some  other  all-powerful  individual, 
but  to  a  machine.  The  mercy  of  the  law  in  a 
democratic  State  is  divested  entirely  of  mercy's 
chief  value,  of  its  very  essence— human  pity. 
The  right  of  the  individual  to  petition  this  in- 
human abstraction  still  exists,  but  the  appeal 
is   no    longer^(^  either    personal    or    human.    The 


216   THE  QUEEN  AND  THE  PEOPLE 

costly  and  complicated  machinery  of  the  law  now 
serves  as  the  intermediary  between  the  petitioner 
and  the  petitioned.  It  would  seem  as  if  the 
State  had  no  need  of  mercy,  and  desired  to  dis- 
courage its  use. 

But  if  royalty  is  nowadays  denied  the  right 
to  exercise  this  prerogative  freely  as  of  old,  disuse 
has  not  yet  atrophied  its  sense  of  pity.  This  is 
still  provided  with  the  means  of  expression  by 
the  practice  of  philanthropy  and  charity.  Some 
idea  of  the  frequency  of  the  appeals  to  royal 
sympathy  and  their  response  may  be  gathered 
from  the  following  list  of  engagements  of  the 
Prince  and  Princess  of  Wales  for  three  months, 
taken  haphazard  from  an  old  Court  Journal : 

Opening  of  Hunstanton  Convalescent  Home. 
Annual   Dinner   of   Cab-drivers*    Benevolent 

Association. 
Fancy  Bazaar  in  aid  of  West  End  Hospital 

for  Paralytic  and  Epileptic  Children. 
Bazaar  in  aid  of  Hospital  for  Consumption 

and  Diseases  of  the  Chest,  Ventnor. 
Visit  to  Hertford  British  Hospital. 
Laying  of  Foundation-stone  of  new  Norfolk 

and  Norwich  Dispensary. 
Visit  to  Hospital  for  Sick  Children,   Great 

Ormond  Street. 
Opening  of  new  school  buildings  of  Alexandra 
Orphanage,    Hornsey    Rise   (Their    Royal 
Highnesses    will    also    pass    through    the 
grounds  of  Islington  Workhouse). 
Annual  Dinner  of  West  End  Hospital. 
Visit  to  St.  Saviour's  Church  for  Deaf  and 
Dumb. 


VALUE   OF  ROYAL  PATRONAGE  217 

Opening  of  new  wing  of  French  Hospital, 

Leicester    Square ;    also   (same   day)   Fete 

Frangaise  in  behalf  of  French  Benevolent 

Institutions. 

Laying  of  Foundation-stone  of  new  building 

for  Royal  Hospital  for  Incurables. 
Visit  to  Royal  Normal  College  for  the  Blind, 

Upper  Norwood. 
Visit    to    National    Orphan    House,     Ham 

Common. 
Laying  Foundation-stone  of  additional  build- 
ings of  Hospital  for  Consumption,  Bromp- 
ton. 
Distribution    of    Prizes    at    North    London 
Collegiate  School  for  Girls,  etc.,  etc. 
It   is  no  exaggeration   to   say   that,  with   the 
exception  of  her  husband,  no  one  person  has  ever 
performed  so  many  public  acts  connected  with 
charity  and  philanthropy  as  Alexandra,  both  as 
Princess  of  Wales  and  Queen. 

To  compute  the  money  obtained  through  her 
influence  would  be  impossible ;  the  value  of  her 
example  alone  is  incalculable.  On  her  first  public 
appearance  in  this  capacity,  in  June  1863,  three 
months  after  her  marriage,  when  with  the  Prince 
she  opened  the  Orphan  Asylum  at  Slough,  one 
man  alone  contributed  £12,000  to  its  support. 

Any  scheme  for  the  relief  of  special  distress 
arising  from  some  great  disaster  ever  found  in 
her  an  ardent  sympathiser.  One  of  the  earliest 
and  most  notable  instances  of  this  kind  was 
caused  by  the  paralysis  of  the  cotton  trade  in 
Lancashire  during  the  American  Civil  War,  when 
more  than  half  a  million  persons  were  in  a  starving 


218   THE  QUEEN  AND  THE  PEOPLE 

condition.  The  magnitude  of  the  disaster  was 
so  appaUing  that  ParHament  was  obHged  to 
adopt  special  measures  for  its  reHef.  These, 
however,  proved  inadequate,  and  a  terrible  cala- 
mity must  have  occurred  but  for  the  immense 
fund  raised  by  charity  to  which  the  Prince  and 
Princess  of  Wales  were  the  first  and  most  generous 
contributors. 

Their  aid  was  not  limited  to  the  relief  of  suffer- 
ing. Its  prevention  was  a  subject  in  which  both 
took  a  special  interest,  and  many  schemes  with 
that  object  in  view  originated  with  them. 

The  elevation  of  the  nursing  profession  from 
the  degrading  condition  in  which  it  existed  when 
Sairey  Gamp  and  Betsy  Prigg  practised  it  is  a 
notable  instance.  It  was  largely  to  the  interest 
taken  by  the  Princess  of  Wales  in  the  reformation 
begun  by  Florence  Nightingale  that  nursing  has 
become  an  honourable  and  profitable  career  for 
women. 

As  a  nurse  herself,  she  yielded  the  palm  to 
none.  *'  I  never  knew  anyone  who  could  arrange 
pillows  like  the  Queen,"  said  one  who  had  had 
the  benefit  of  her  ministrations.  Her  very  pre- 
sence in  a  sick  room  had  a  beneficial  effect. 
She  was  tireless,  and  seemed  to  know  the  right 
thing  to  do  in  a  crisis.  Her  sister,  the  Empress 
Marie,  was  also  invaluable  as  a  nurse.  The 
Emperor  Alexander  III,  who  in  his  later  years 
was  a  great  sufferer  and  received,  it  goes  without 
saying,  the  best  attention  it  was  in  the  power  of 
the  medical  profession  to  give,  declared  that 
"  there  were  no  better  nurses  in  the  world  than 
the  daughters  of  the  King  of  Denmark." 


>    i    >  ^  > 


CZAR    AI^EXANDER    III. 
(By  permission  of  Messrs.  Grant  Richards,  Ltd.) 


ILLNESS  OF  THE   PRINCESS  219 

They  inherited  this  aptitude  from  their  mother, 
to  whose  skill  the  most  experienced  physicians 
were  frequently  indebted.  An  instance  of  this 
occurred  on  the  birth  of  the  Princess  Louise,  the 
future  Duchess  of  Fife.  The  Princess  of  Wales 
was  ill  at  the  time  with  acute  rheumatism.  This 
was  at  first  regarded  as  a  painful  concomitant 
of  her  condition,  which,  however,  instead  of  im- 
proving, as  was  confidently  expected,  suddenly 
became  so  critical  that  Sir  James  Paget  took  it 
upon  himself  to  telegraph  for  her  mother  without 
waiting  to  obtain  permission  to  do  so.  When  it 
became  known  how  desperately  ill  she  was  there 
was  great  anxiety  throughout  the  country.  For 
days  immense  crowds  gathered  outside  Marl- 
borough House  to  read  the  bulletins.  On  one 
occasion  the  rumour  that  she  was  dying  created 
such  consternation  among  the  people  at  the 
gates  that  the  Prince  of  Wales  was  obliged  to  send 
out  one  of  his  equerries  to  reassure  them. 

In  the  general  anxiety  for  the  mother,  her  child 
was  almost  entirely  forgotten.  The  poorer  classes 
manifested  their  concern  in  various  ways.  On 
reading  a  report  that  she  could  not  sleep,  a 
working  man  brought  a  hop-pillow  to  Marlborough 
House  as  a  remedy.  In  one  month,  it  was  said, 
she  received  more  than  one  thousand  prescrip- 
tions from  humble  sympathisers.  It  was  finally 
necessary  to  issue  an  appeal  through  the  Press 
that  no  more  should  be  sent,  as  the  Princess 
was  having  the  very  best  care. 

The  popular  anxiety,  however,  was  only  allayed 
when  her  mother  returned  to  Denmark,  this 
being  taken  as  a  sign  that  she  was  out  of  danger. 


220   THE  QUEEN  AND  THE  PEOPLE 

Throughout  the  illness  it  was  Queen  Louise  who 
kept  hope  alive.  From  the  moment  of  her  arrival 
till  her  departure  she  took  upon  herself  the  full 
responsibility  of  nursing  her  daughter.  Sir  James 
Paget,  the  Princess's  chief  doctor,  afterwards 
stated  that  it  was  entirely  due  to  her  mother's 
devoted  care  that  she  recovered. 

Her  first  appearance  in  public  after  this  illness, 
which  lasted  six  months,  was  to  pay  a  visit  to 
St.  Bartholomew's  Hospital.  Her  own  suffering 
had  filled  her  with  a  profound  pity  for  that  of 
others,  especially  those  who  had  not  the  means 
to  obtain  the  medical  advantages  of  which  she 
had  the  benefit.  It  was  now  that  she  began  to 
take  an  active  interest  in  all  that  was  conducive 
to  the  prevention  and  relief  of  physical  pain. 
The  number  of  ''Alexandra"  Wings  and  Wards 
in  hospitals  all  over  the  country  prove  how 
practical  this  interest  has  been. 

It  was  she  who  personally  provided  the  London 
Hospital  with  the  means  of  curing  the  dread 
disease  of  lupus  by  the  Finsen  Light  treatment. 
During  one  of  her  visits  to  Denmark,  accompanied 
by  her  sister,  the  Empress  Marie,  she  had  visited 
the  institution  where  the  young  Danish  doctor 
was  effecting  such  remarkable  cures  by  his  recently 
discovered  method.  ''  Both  sisters,"  said  a  lady 
who  went  with  them,  ''  were  simply  wild  with 
delight  at  what  they  saw."  On  returning  to 
England  the  Princess  at  once  declared  her  inten- 
tion of  introducing  the  Light  cure  into  the  London 
Hospital,  of  which  she  afterwards  became  the 
President.  Two  doctors,  a  matron,  and  a  nurse, 
were  accordingly  sent  to  Copenhagen  to   study 


THE  LONDON  HOSPITAL'S  TRIBUTE      221 

the  new  method,  and  on  their  return  the  Princess 
provided  the  hospital  with  the  necessary  apparatus. 

The  Empress  Marie  even  erected  a  special 
Finsen  Institute  in  Petrograd.  The  interest  of 
the  sisters  in  the  inventor  was  equally  enthusi- 
astic. It  was  due  to  them,  as  he  was  the  first  to 
acknowledge,  that  he  owed  the  universal  recog- 
nition he  acquired. 

In  1908  the  board  of  governors  and  staff  of  the 
London  Hospital  erected  a  bronze  statue  of 
Queen  Alexandra  in  the  hospital  garden  in  White- 
chapel  as  a  mark  of  their  appreciation  of  the 
work  she  had  done  for  the  institution.  This  was 
the  first  statue  ever  raised  to  the  Queen  in  England, 
though  many  busts  and  effigies  in  her  honour, 
usually  to  be  found  adorning  some  bridge  or 
building,  had  been  set  up  all  over  the  country 
in  the  forty-five  years  since  her  marriage. 


To  say  that  a  king  or  queen  is  charitable  is  a 
commonplace.  Royalty  is  expected  to  be  chari- 
table, and  to  trumpet  what  has  come  to  be  taken 
for  granted  excites  neither  surprise  nor  interest. 
To-day,  when  charity  has  been  developed  into  a 
highly  organised  system  of  relief,  it  is  the  organi- 
sation that  matters.  Both  giving  and  receiving 
are  regarded  as  a  sort  of  formal  and  necessary 
convention,  and  the  virtue  of  compassion  is  apt 
to  be  lost  sight  of. 

Yet  this  is,  or  should  be,  the  chief  characteristic 
of  all  philanthropy.  The  charity  the  Queen  dis- 
pensed was  full  of  compassion.    She  gave  spon- 


222   THE  QUEEN  AND  THE  PEOPLE 

taneously,  gladly,  lavishly.  Being  naturally  very 
generous,  between  the  constant  appeals  on  her 
purse  and  her  willingness  to  respond,  the  treasurer 
of  her  household  was  often  hard  pressed  to  keep 
her  supplied  with  funds  without  exceeding  her 
revenue.  Her  private  charities — little  acts  in- 
spired by  pity  of  which  the  world  never  knew  and 
which  she  herself  soon  forgot — were  innumerable. 
If  she  felt  that  anyone  with  whom  she  came  in 
contact  lacked  some  necessity,  she  could  not  rest 
till  she  had  relieved  the  want.  She  enjoyed  the 
joy  of  giving  too  well  to  wait  to  be  solicited.  If 
she  knew,  as  she  often  did,  of  cases  of  extreme 
poverty  she  did  not  stop  to  inquire  into  the 
merits  of  the  case,  but  gave  relief  promptly.  She 
had,  too,  many  ways  of  giving— now  by  one  of 
her  ladies  or  by  an  ordinary  servant,  according 
to  the  case  ;  at  other  times,  if  she  felt  that  by  her 
presence  she  could  give  aid  or  comfort,  she  would 
go  in  person. 

A  tenant  on  the  Sandringham  estate  has  de- 
clared that  he  has  ''  known  her  visit  a  sick  labourer 
at  ten  o'clock  at  night,  and  returning  to  the  Hall, 
come  back  again  with  delicacies  at  nearly  eleven.'' 
When  the  Prince  of  Wales  was  ill  with  typhoid  in 
1 87 1,  though  almost  beside  herself  with  anxiety, 
she  never  forgot  to  inquire  daily  after  Blagge,  his 
groom,  who  was  similarly  stricken.  She  gave 
instructions  that  his  mother  should  be  sent  for, 
and  after  his  death  had  him  buried  at  her  own 
expense  in  the  little  churchyard  at  Sandringham. 
The  tombstone  she  erected  over  his  grave  bears 
the  following  inscription  :  **  The  one  is  taken, 
the  other  left."     In  her  eyes  the  grave,  in  which 


A  FACTORY   GIRL'S  WISH  228 

all  are  equal,  had  effaced  the  difference  between 
the  humble  groom  and  the  future  King. 

It  was  characteristic  of  her  sense  of  pity  that 
the  humblest  appeals  met  with  the  readiest 
response.  The  following,  which  by  some  chance 
the  Press  managed  to  get  wind  of,  is  an  example  of 
innumerable  ones  that  she  was  the  last  to  desire 
to  have  reported.  One  day  in  1908,  in  the 
middle  of  the  London  Season,  her  white  motor- 
car, en  route  for  some  function  or  other,  was 
seen  to  drive  up  to  the  door  of  St.  Luke's  House, 
Pembridge  Square,  Bayswater,  a  charitable  in- 
stitution for  the  reception  of  cases  of  mortal 
illness  in  their  latest  stages.  It  seems  that,  a 
day  or  two  previous,  Martha  Massy,  one  of  the 
patients — a  consumptive  factory  girl — had  sur- 
reptitiously written  a  letter  to  the  Queen  saying 
how  much  she  wished  to  see  her  before  she  died. 

The  letter,  which  was  couched  in  the  simplest 
phraseology,  explained  that  the  writer,  though 
she  had  often  tried,  had  never  been  able  to 
see  the  Queen  of  whom  she  had  always  read 
in  the  papers.  The  Queen  was  so  touched  by 
the  evident  sincerity  of  the  poor  girl  that  she  at 
once  resolved  to  gratify  her  wish.  The  visit  was 
one  of  absolute  surprise.  The  servant-girl  who,  on 
answering  the  bell,  at  once  recognised  the  Queen, 
could  scarcely  announce  her  to  the  matron,  while 
the  astonishment  of  the  latter  may  be  imagined 
when  the  Queen  of  England  appeared  in  her 
little  office  and  explained  the  object  of  her 
visit ! 

As  for  Martha  Massy,  at  sight  of  the  Queen 
standing  by  her  bedside  surprise   and   pleasure 


224   THE  QUEEN  AND  THE  PEOPLE 

for  the  moment  quite  overcame  her.  But  the 
manner  in  which  her  wonderful  visitor  thanked 
her  for  her  letter  and  expressed  the  pleasure  it 
gave  to  respond  to  her  request  quickly  dispelled 
her  nervousness.  Though  she  could  find  no 
words  to  express  her  heart-felt  thanks,  the  tears 
in  her  eyes  indicated  the  fullness  of  her  heart 
when  the  Queen  handed  her  a  lovely  bouquet 
of  orchids,  lilies  of  the  valley,  and  carnations, 
saying  that  the  flowers  had  been  cut  from  the 
Palace  gardens  specially  for  her. 

Nor  were  the  other  patients  forgotten.  The 
Queen  visited  each  bed  and  distributed  roses  and 
a  kind  word  to  all. 

''  After  leaving  the  ward,'*  said  the  matron, 
''  she  heard  someone  coughing  and  inquired  who 
it  was.  On  being  told  that  it  was  Martha  Massy 
she  ordered  some  lozenges  to  be  brought  from 
her  car,  and,  retracing  her  steps  once  more  to  the 
bedside  of  the  girl,  placed  one  of  the  lozenges  in 
her  mouth,  and,  telling  her  to  take  them  when- 
ever she  had  a  severe  fit  of  coughing,  shook  hands 
with  her  again.'* 

On  another  occasion,  meeting  some  poor  children 
by  the  roadside  at  Sandringham,  she  stopped  to 
inquire  if  their  father  was  a  labourer  on  the 
estate. 

**  No,  ma'am;  he  ain't  a  labourer,"  put  in  an 
urchin  proudly,  ''  he's  a  poacher." 

"  Does  he  find  much  to  do  ?  "  asked  the  Queen 
with  a  smile. 

**  Not  much;  we're  half  starved  at  home,"  was 
the  reply. 

*'  Poor    child !  "    exclaimed    the    Queen    with 


HORROR  OF  CRUELTY  225 

ready  sympathy.    "  Tell  me  where  you  live,  and  I 
will  see  that  you  get  some  food/' 

As  for  the  father  whose  vocation  the  child  had 
unwittingly  betrayed,  she  neither  reported  nor 
reproached  him,  but  found  him  work  instead  on 
the  estate. 

IV 

Of  cruelty  in  any  form  she  had  a  horror.  When 
fishing  she  used  only  artificial  bait,  and  tried  to 
persuade  others  to  do  the  same.  On  fishing 
excursions  in  Denmark  her  brother-in-law,  Alex- 
ander III,  used  to  tease  her  by  putting  a  live  worm 
on  his  hook,  till  she  refused  to  go  out  with  him  if 
he  persisted.  Any  act  of  brutality,  if  she  chanced 
to  witness  it,  filled  her  with  the  deepest  indig- 
nation. 

A  story  once  went  the  rounds  that  she  had 
boxed  the  ears  of  a  boy  in  Sandringham  village 
whom  she  saw  tormenting  a  cat. 

''It  is  not  true,*'  said  Princess  Maud,  when 
told  of  it;  ''my  mother  is  incapable  of  such  a 
thing;  but,*'  she  added,  "I  am  sure  she  would 
like  to  have  done  it.'' 

One  day  in  Copenhagen,  before  her  marriage, 
she  stopped  to  remonstrate  with  a  man  who  was 
maltreating  a  dog.  At  first,  not  knowing  who 
she  was,  he  resented  her  interference;  but,  on 
being  informed,  was  full  of  excuses  and  apologies, 
whereupon  she  said  scathingly,  "  You  ought  to 
be  ashamed  of  yourself  to  invent  excuses  for  your 
cruelty  because  you  have  discovered  who  I  am." 

Love  of  animals  was  one  of  the  distinguishing 
traits  of  her  character.  She  brought  with  her  to 
15 


226   THE  QUEEN  AND  THE  PEOPLE 

England  on  her  marriage  two  turtle-doves  that 
had  been  given  her  when  a  girl.  And  she  long 
cherished  a  beautiful  white  dove  presented  to  her 
by  the  women  of  Dublin  as  a  mark  of  affection 
on  her  first  visit  to  Ireland.  At  Sandringham  she 
once  made  a  hobby  of  collecting  birds  and  animals 
of  all  sorts.  But  the  maintenance  of  her  little 
menagerie  was  attended  with  so  much  inconveni- 
ence that  the  monkeys  and  bears,  tigers  and 
paroquets  were  finally  sent  to  the  Zoo  in  London 
and  she  contented  herself  with  her  dogs  and  horses. 

For  both  she  had  a  special  penchant.  The 
kennels  at  Sandringham  contained  dogs  of  all 
descriptions  of  the  purest  breed,  many  of  which 
were  presented  to  her  at  various  times.  Each 
dog  had  its  name,  and  was  known  to  her  personally 
by  it.  When  walking  she  was  invariably  accom- 
panied by  a  troop  of  dogs,  and  could  command 
their  obedience  by  a  word.  Indeed,  the  power  she 
possessed  over  both  dogs  and  horses  was  extraor- 
dinary. Those  that  enjoyed  her  special  favour 
repaid  her  by  an  equally  remarkable  fidelity  and 
devotion. 

She  was  particularly  fond  of  borzois,  or  white 
Russian  wolf-hounds,  and  out  of  doors  was 
generally  seen  attended  by  one  of  these  stately, 
decorative  creatures.  Indoors  she  gave  her  pre- 
ference to  fancy  Japanese  spaniels  or  Pekinese. 
The  great  popularity  of  these  boudoir  pets  origi- 
nated in  the  desire  to  imitate  her. 

She  was  very  loyal  in  her  affection  for  her 
favourites.  The  memory  of  more  than  one  beau- 
tiful dog  of  rare  breed  is  preserved  at  the  kennels 
by  their  portraits  in  oils  or  by  the  art  of  the 


A   FEARLESS   RIDER  227 

taxidermist.  In  this  connection  it  is  worthy  of 
note  that,  of  all  the  magnificent  presents  she 
received  on  her  silver  wedding  day,  none  pleased 
her  more  than  a  silver  statuette  of  her  favourite 
horse,  Viva,  which  was  given  her  by  her  children. 

Of  all  out-door  recreations,  her  favourite  was 
riding.  Few  women  of  her  day  rode  better  than 
she.  Horsemanship  was  an  art  in  which  she  was 
thoroughly  versed.  She  was  equally  at  home  on 
one  side  of  a  horse  or  the  other,  and  when  tem- 
porarily lamed  by  a  stiff  knee-joint  caused  by 
rheumatism,  from  which  she  suffered  so  long 
after  the  birth  of  the  Princess  Royal,  she  had 
her  saddles  made  to  enable  her  to  ride  on  the 
opposite  side.  Knowing  her  horses,  she  never 
demanded  more  of  them  than  she  knew  they  could 
perform.  They  never  threw  her  or  fell  with  her, 
and  were  always  comparatively  fresh  at  the  end  of 
a  hard  day.  She  herself  never  appeared  fatigued, 
and,  in  the  hunting  season,  weather  which  often 
damped  the  ardour  of  others  made  no  difference 
to  her.  Many  a  time  she  was  the  sole  lady  to 
turn  up  at  a  meet. 

Lord  Ronald  Gower  thus  describes  her  hunting 
at  Trentham  during  a  visit  she  paid  there  with 
the  Prince  in  the  early  years  of  her  marriage  : 

'*  The  Princess  looked  very  lovely  on  her  horse. 
King  Arthur,  and  rode  like  a  bird.  Except 
hurdles,  however,  which  had  been  put  up  in  the 
Green  Drive,  there  was  little  jumping.  But  the 
Princess  took  the  hurdles  beautifully ;  she  has 
simply  no  sense  of  nervousness.  Returning  from 
the  hunt  after  dark,  riding  through  the  wood 
where  these  hurdles  were,  she  leapt  them  again. 


228   THE  QUEEN  AND  THE  PEOPLE 

although  both  the  Prince  and  Stafford  had 
avoided  them. 

**  The  next  term  at  Cambridge,  I  found  my  old 
friend  Professor  Sidgwick  delighted  to  hear  of 
the  Princess  being  such  a  plucky  horsewoman, 
saying  that  her  courage  and  nerve  came  from  the 
grand  old  Norse  breed/* 

A  total  lack  of  fear  was,  indeed,  one  of  the 
conspicuous  features  of  her  character.  At  the 
Coronation  of  Alexander  III,  when  there  was  every 
reason  to  believe  that  the  Nihilists  had  designed 
to  blow  up  the  entire  assembly,  one  who  was 
present  has  stated  that  ''  the  Princess  of  Wales 
alone  was  without  a  vestige  of  fear  when  every- 
body else  was  quaking  in  their  boots/' 

On  the  occasion  of  her  second  visit  to  Ireland, 
which  occurred  at  a  time  when  the  country  was 
being  terrorised  by  the  Fenians,  great  anxiety 
was  felt  lest  she  and  the  Prince  should  be  the 
victims  of  some  outrage.  She  insisted,  however, 
on  accompanying  the  Prince  and  the  Viceroy  on  a 
tour  of  some  of  the  most  disaffected  and  dangerous 
parts  of  the  country.  Often  their  reception  was 
threatening,  but  the  courage  of  the  Princess 
never  deserted  her,  and  steadied  the  nerves  of 
those  around  her  by  its  example.  When,  at  one 
station  of  the  journey,  people  brought  coffins  with 
cross-bones  on  them  and  set  them  down  signifi- 
cantly before  the  royal  carriage,  the  Princess 
exclaimed,  with  a  smile  of  pity,  ''  Poor  people,  I 
am  sorry  for  them.  Perhaps  in  their  place  1 
should  do  the  same  1 '' 

What  a  moment  that  must  have  been  when, 
seated  by  the  side  of  the  Prince  as  their  train 


LOVE   OF  MUSIC  229 

was  about  to  leave  Brussels  for  Copenhagen,  a 
youth  suddenly  sprang  upon  the  step  of  the 
carriage  and  fired  two  shots  point-blank  at  him, 
which  by  a  miracle  failed  to  reach  their  mark ! 
That  the  Princess  should  suffer  severely  from 
the  shock  was  but  natural,  but  her  high  spirit 
enabled  her  quickly  to  regain  her  outward  com- 
posure. When  the  excited  officials  came  thronging 
around  her  she  was  perfectly  calm  and  collected. 


Of  all  her  tastes  a  love  of  music  was  perhaps 
the  chief.  Her  musical  education  had  been  par- 
ticularly soignee.  Accustomed  as  a  girl  in  Copen- 
hagen to  hear  the  first  artistes  of  the  day  she  had 
acquired  a  thorough  understanding  and  appre- 
ciation of  technique,  and  was  herself  an  accom- 
plished pianist. 

''  Sir  Charles  Halle,  under  whom,  after  her 
marriage,  she  studied  for  a  time,"  says  his  son 
and  biographer,  "had  the  greatest  regard  for  her 
talent,  and  thought  it  of  a  very  high  order." 

Famous  musicians,  whom  it  has  ever  been  the 
custom  of  royalty  to  distinguish  by  special  marks 
of  favour,  were  treated  by  her  with  peculiar 
consideration.  It  was  as  if  her  emotional  nature 
instinctively  responded  to  the  magnetic  appeal 
of  the  royalty,  so  to  speak,  inherent  in  all  great 
singers  and  performers. 

As  a  tribute  from  a  lover  of  music  to  a  ''  Queen 
of  Song,"  nothing  could  surpass  in  its  graceful 
sincerity  this  ''  royal  command  "  : 


280   THE  QUEEN  AND  THE  PEOPLE 

"Marlborough  House, 
"  loth  March,  1888. 

"  My  dear  Madame  Albani, 

''  The  Queen  is  going  to  dine  with  us  on 
our  silver  wedding  day,  and  it  would  be  very 
kind  if  you  would  come  in  the  evening  at  lo 
o'clock  and  sing  one  little  song,  as  you  know  what 
an  admirer  she  is  of  your  lovely  voice. 
'*  Yours  very  sincerely, 

''  Alexandra." 

In  innumerable  ways  she  sought  to  show  her 
appreciation  of  musical  genius.  All  the  greatest 
musicians  of  her  time,  vocal  and  instrumental, 
have  enjoyed  her  patronage  and  received  from  her 
princely  gifts  and  other  marks  of  esteem.  After 
her  Coronation  she  a'^ppointed  Lady  Halle  ''  Vio- 
linist to  the  Queen'* — a  Court  post  specially 
created  for  her.  It  would  be  hard  to  determine 
who  was  the  more  gratified,  the  Princess  of  Wales 
or  Jenny  Lind  when  the  great  cantatrice  received 
Queen  Victoria's  command  to  sing  at  her  wedding. 
She  liked  to  receive  the  most  famous  artistes 
privately  and  informally.  On  these  occasions, 
when  they  would,  of  course,  invariably  perform 
for  her  benefit,  she  sat  close  to  the  piano  so  as 
not  to  miss  a  note  and  listened  with  rapt  attention. 

It  is  principally  to  her  love  of  opera,  which 
King  Edward  shared,  that  the  taste  for  this 
form  of  musical  entertainment  was  cultivated  and 
developed  in  England.  Their  patronage  ensured 
the  success  of  the  Covent  Garden  Opera,  which 
for  half  a  century  was  the  outstanding  feature 
of  the  London  Season.     By  making  it  fashionable 


Photo,   The  London  Stereoscopic  Co. 

QUEEN    AI.EXANDRA    IN    1887 


A  DOCTOR  OF  MUSIC  231 

with  Society,  by  which  means  alone  the  best 
artistes — always  and  rightly  a  very  costly  luxury — 
could  be  procured,  not  only  the  public  generally, 
but  the  musical  world  especially,  were  enabled 
to  enjoy  what  they  could  not  otherwise  have 
experienced  in  England— certainly  to  the  same 
extent. 

Orchestral  music,  of  which  the  Queen  was 
particularly  fond,  benefited  greatly  by  her  patro- 
nage. By  her  frequent  and  informal  attendances 
the  Passion  music  performed  in  Lent  at  St. 
Anne's,  Soho,  became  famous.  She  was  con- 
stantly to  be  seen  at  concerts  of  all  descriptions ; 
if,  as  occasionally  happened,  she  arrived  late,  she 
waited  until  the  conclusion  of  the  piece  being 
performed  before  taking  her  seat.  At  the  con- 
certs at  the  old  St.  James's  Hall — long  since  pulled 
down — many  have  seen  her  profile  reflected  in  the 
glass  door  which  led  to  the  stalls  while  she  stood 
patiently  waiting  to  enter. 

It  was,  too,  largely  due  to  her  initiative  that  the 
Royal  College  of  Music  at  Kensington  was  started, 
and  the  Alexandra  House,  which  is  a  hostel  for 
students  connected  with  the  College,  is  her  own 
idea. 

It  was  no  mere  courtier  flattery  which  caused 
the  University  of  Dublin  to  confer  upon  her  the 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Music  during  her  second  visit 
to  Ireland  in  1885,  but  a  just  and  well-merited 
recognition  both  of  her  own  talent  and  her  en- 
couragement and  protection  of  the  musical  pro- 
fession. 


CHAPTER    IX 
A  ROYAL  HOLIDAY 

I.    THE    CONSTANT    MOVEMENT    OF    ROYAL    LIVES THE    TRAVELS    OF 

KINGS — THE    ROMANCE    WHICH    WAS    ATTACHED    TO    THEM    IN    FORMER 

TIMES — THE  EFFECT  ON  LITERATURE THE  IMPORTANCE  OF  TRAVEL  IN 

THE    LIFE    OF    MODERN    ROYALTY.      II.    THE    VISIT    OF    THE    PRINCE    AND 

PRINCESS  OF  WALES  TO  EGYPT  IN  1 869 ITS  PECULIAR  INTEREST ISMAIL 

PASHA,  VICEROY  OF  EGYPT HIS  EXTRAVAGANCE  AND  LOVE  OF  SPLENDOUR 

THE  ARRIVAL  OF  THE  PRINCE  AND  PRINCESS  AT  CAIRO THE  MAGNIFI- 
CENCE   WITH    WHICH    THEY    WERE    RECEIVED THE    WONDERS    OF    THE 

ESBEKIEH    PALACE THE    DEPARTURE    OF  THE  HOLY  CARPET  TO  MECCA. 

III.   THE  VISIT  OF  THE  PRINCESS  TO  THE  HAREM  OF  ISMAIL A  SCENE  FROM 

"the  ARABIAN  NIGHTS  " THE.  LADIES  OF  THE  HAREM THEIR  WONDER- 
FUL JEWELS THE  PRINCESS's  DISGUISE.       IV.  THE  ROYAL  DAHABEAH A 

PARTY  OF  cook's  TOURISTS  IN  PURSUIT GLIMPSES  OF  THE  PRINCESS  ON 

THE    NILE STROLLING    IN    THE    MOONLIGHT IN    THE    DUST-STORM AT 

SUNRISE THE   PRINCE  AND   THE  CROCODILE THE  PRINCESS  AT  LUXOR 

IN     THE     RUINS     OF     KARNAK HER     INDEFATIGABLE     ENERGY LADY 

DUFF-GORDON'S  impression  of  THE  PRINCESS THE  PRINCE  AND  PRINCESS 

START  FOR  THE  SECOND  CATARACT — FAILURE   OF  THE  COOK's  TOURISTS 
TO  OVERTAKE  THEM.       V.    THE  PRINCE  AND  PRINCESS  AT  CONSTANTINOPLE 

THEIR     RECEPTION     BY     THE     SULTAN     ABDUL    AZIZ THE     POLITICAL 

IMPORTANCE   OF  THE   TOUR. 


Movement  has  always  been  a  conspicuous  feature 
of  the  Hfe  of  royalty.  Save  for  its  dolce  far 
niente  existence  in  the  Armida-garden  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  which  was  so  roughly  in- 
terrupted by  the  French  Revolution,  it  has  ever 
been  going  and  coming.  The  kings  of  the  Middle 
Ages  were  perpetually  moving  about  their 
dominions,  or  engaged  in  wars  during  which 
they  travelled  far  and  wide.  Richard  Coeur  de 
Lion  was  scarcely  ever  in  England.  Few  sove- 
reigns in  the  course  of  their  reign  have  seen  more 

232 


THE  TRAVELS  OF  KINGS  288 

of  their  kingdoms  than  Queen  Elizabeth,  while 
Mary  Queen  of  Scots,  before  her  long  captivity, 
had  seen  as  much  of  hers  and  far  more  of  the 
world.  There  was  not  a  civilised  country  in 
Europe  that  escaped  the  inquisitive  eye  of  the 
Emperor  Charles  V — to  cite  merely  familiar 
examples.  Royalty  was  never  still.  Much  re- 
search would  be  necessary  to  find  a  parallel  to 
George  III,  Louis  XVI,  and  the  majority  of  Euro- 
pean sovereigns  of  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  who  seldom,  if  ever,  moved  save  from 
one  palace  to  another  in  its  close  proximity. 

This  passion  for  travel  provided  royalty  with 
its  principal  excitement,  and  created  that  air 
of  romance  which  from  the  earliest  times  has 
cast  such  a  glamour  over  the  lives  of  princes. 
Their  adventures  were  the  theme  of  the  minstrels 
and  the  tales  of  chivalry.  Even  so  late  as  the 
age  of  Louis  XIV  the  novels  of  Mademoiselle  de 
Scudery,  which  had  immense  popularity,  were  all 
about  the  loves  of  kings  and  queens,  princes  and 
princesses,  who  were  depicted  as  experiencing 
them  in  the  course  of  journeying  about  the  world. 

The  great  and  long  vogue  such  subjects  enjoyed 
was  due  not  only  to  their  romance,  but  to  the 
curiosity  they  excited.  They  described  countries 
that  the  vast  majority  of  the  enthralled  readers 
had  no  hope  of  ever  seeing.  It  was  the  King  and 
his  Court  that  travelled,  and  had  these  fascinating 
adventures ;  the  people  stayed  at  home. 

The  distaste  for  travel  which  royalty  manifested 
in  the  eighteenth  century — just  about  the  time 
when  the  grand  tour  became  a  recognised  part  of 
a   nobleman's    education — was    only    temporary. 


284  A    ROYAL   HOLIDAY 

It  was  due  principally  to  the  novel  experience 
of  the  ease  which  came  of  the  consciousness  of 
the  supremacy  of  the  monarchical  system,  and 
which  was  felt  everywhere  after  the  reaction  from 
the  Fronde  and  the  Cromwellian  regime.  In 
these  halcyon  days  the  refined,  effortless  attrac- 
tions of  brilliant  and  luxurious  Courts  offered 
royalty  a  much  greater  possibility  of  enjoyment 
than  the  ruder,  more  fatiguing  pleasures  of  travel. 
The  eighteenth-century  Coxirts,  which  were  all 
modelled  on  Versailles,  supplied  every  want.  In 
France,  the  centre  of  these  delights,  it  was  with 
the  greatest  difficulty  that  a  royal  princess  could 
be  induced  to  marry  out  of  the  country.  Only 
four  did  so  in  the  century — two  daughters  of  the 
Regent  d' Orleans,  a  daughter  of  Louis  XV,  and 
a  sister  of  Louis  XVI. 

But  during  and  after  the  stormy  Napoleonic 
period,  royalty  began  once  more  to  move  to  and 
fro.  With  the  constantly  improving  means  of 
communication  travel  regained  its  old  fascination. 
To-day  no  people  live  in  such  a  state  of  movement 
as  royal  personages.  Travel  is  not  only  a 
pleasure  with  them,  but  a  business.  It  is  one  of 
their  most  important  duties.  In  their  own  States 
it  is  incumbent  on  them,  in  discharging  those 
functions  from  which  some  popular  benefit  may 
be  derived,  to  visit  every  part  of  the  country. 
State  visits  abroad  are  always  undertaken  with 
a  political  object,  while  private  foreign  visits, 
whether  for  pleasure  or  health,  even  though 
devoid  of  a  political  purpose,  of  necessity  exercise 
a  political  influence.  The  personality  of  royalty 
is  one  of  the  subtlest  forms  of  propaganda. 


A  MEMORABLE  TOUR  235 

II 

Though  never  out  of  Europe,  or  European 
waters — save  on  one  occasion — few  royal  per- 
sonages of  her  time  have  travelled  more  exten- 
sively than  Queen  Alexandra.  There  is  hardly  a 
country  house  of  note  or  a  city  of  any  importance 
in  Great  Britain  that  has  not  been  visited,  often 
several  times,  by  her. 

Devoted  to  yachting,  like  King  Edward,  never 
a  year  passed  till  the  Great  War  that  she  did  not 
cruise  in  the  Mediterranean,  the  Baltic,  or  in 
British  waters.  Of  her  innumerable  cruises  and 
visits  to  the  Continent,  whether  official  or  un- 
official, alone  or  with  the  King  and  her  children 
(from  whom  in  their  infancy  she  was  seldom  sepa- 
rated) one  journey  is  especially  memorable — her 
tour  in  the  East. 

The  illness  from  which  the  Princess  had  suffered 
the  greater  part  of  1867  had  left  her  in  such  in- 
different health  throughout  the  whole  of  the 
following  year  that  her  physicians  recommended 
her  to  spend  the  winter  of  1868-9  i^  Egypt,  the 
advantage  of  whose  climate  was  then  beginning 
to  be  appreciated.  The  man-of-war  Ariadne  was 
accordingly  fitted  out  as  a  yacht,  and  the  royal 
party,  which  consisted  of  the  Prince  and  Princess 
of  Wales  and  a  small  suite,  after  paying  a  brief 
visit  to  Copenhagen,  embarked  at  Trieste  for 
Alexandria  on  the  28th  of  January,  1869.  Their 
plan  was  to  proceed  up  the  Nile  as  far  as  the 
Second  Cataract,  and  afterwards  visit  Constanti- 
nople, the  Crimea,  and  Greece,  returning  home 
somewhere    about    the  middle  of  May. 


286  A    ROYAL   HOLIDAY 

As  a  traveller's  experience,  it  deserves  to  be 
remembered  when  many  a  more  imposing  royal 
tour  has  passed  into  total  oblivion.  It  is  so  unique 
in  its  way  that  the  Journal  of  the  Hon.  Mrs. 
Grey  and  the  graphic  reports  of  Sir  William 
Russell,  the  Times  correspondent,  which  describe 
it,  are  worth  preserving  by  the  Hakluyt  Society 
or  some  institution  of  the  kind.  Apart  from  its 
romantic,  it  has  an  historical  interest,  occurring 
as  it  did  just  as  Egypt,  while  still  retaining  its 
Oriental  atmosphere,  had  begun  to  yield  to  the 
vandalising  influence  of  the  West. 

Ismail,  under  whom  this  transformation  was 
taking  place,  Viceroy  and  afterwards  Khedive  of 
Egypt,  was  noted  for  his  love  of  splendour  and 
luxury,  the  unbridled  gratification  of  which,  after 
making  him  an  exile  and  the  country  bankrupt, 
led  to  the  British  occupation.  A  French  educa- 
tion had  given  his  typically  Oriental  character  a 
European  veneer.  Conscious  that  he  was  the 
grandson  of  the  famous  Mehemet  Ali,  he  was 
ambitious  as  well  as  extravagant,  and,  in  the  hope 
of  furthering  his  political  designs,  he  spared  no 
expense  to  dazzle  his  royal  guests  by  the  gor- 
geous display  traditional  of  Eastern  hospitality. 

It  was,  however,  less  by  his  carefully  prepared 
exhibition  of  Franco-Oriental  splendour  than  by 
unrehearsed  Arabian  Nights'  effects  that  this 
magnificent  satrap  produced  the  impression  he 
desired  to  create. 

Egypt  in  1869  had  not  yet  become  tourist- 
ridden,  though  Ismail  was  doing  his  best  to 
popularise  it.  The  comparatively  few  persons 
who  visited  it  every  winter  regarded  themselves 


ISMAIL'S  PREPARATIONS  287 

as  travellers  rather  than  tourists.  Since  the 
Crusades,  the  memory  of  which,  along  with 
coats  of  mail  and  other  souvenirs  of  the  Knights 
of  the  Cross,  was  still  preserved  in  many  a  pasha's 
palace  and  castle,  no  European  princess,  certainly 
none  with  the  immense  prestige  of  the  wife  of 
the  Heir  to  the  Throne  of  England,  ha'd  ever 
been  seen  in  the  land  of  the  Pharaohs.  (The 
visit  of  the  Empress  Eugenie  did  not  take  place 
till  some  months  later.)  The  result  was  that, 
what  with  Ismail's  preparations  and  the  unusual 
character  of  the  event,  the  visit  of  the  Prince 
and  Princess  of  Wales  was  most  eagerly  antici- 
pated. 

Though  the  royal  pair  travelled  as  ''  Lord  and 
Lady  Renfrew,"  Ismail  made  no  attempt  to 
respect  their  incognito. 

The  news  that  the  Ariadne  had  left  Trieste 
on  Wednesday,  the  29th  of  January,  at  mid- 
night having  been  telegraphed  to  Cairo,  it  was 
confidently  expected  that  she  would  arrive  at 
Alexandria  on  the  following  Monday,  the  3rd  of 
February,  at  noon.  The  troops  were  accordingly 
warned  for  duty,  the  guards  were  turned  out,  and 
officials  in  Court  costume  hung  about  all  day 
long  in  vain.  On  Tuesday  morning  the  Viceroy 
received  a  telegram  announcing  that  the  Ariadne 
was  off  Alexandria.  But  early  in  the  afternoon 
there  arrived  another  message  at  Cairo  to  say 
that  it  was  the  Psyche,  not  the  Ariadne,  which 
had  caused  the  renewed  bustle  of  preparation. 
Conjecture  was  now  rife,  and  more  absurd  than 
ever.  It  went  so  far  as  to  suppose  that  the 
Prince  and  Princess  had  halted  at  Corfu  to  see 


238  A    ROYAL    HOLIDAY 

the   King  of    Greece,   who  was  supposed  to  be 
there  incognito. 

But  Wednesday  solved  all  doubts  at  Cairo. 
The  Ariadne  was  signalled  coming  into  port. 
Once  more  the  guards  were  turned  out  and  the 
palace  servants  and  official  valetaille  warned  to 
be  in  readiness ;  while  such  strangers  as  took  an 
interest  in  the  proceedings  prepared  to  occupy 
positions  outside  the  Viceroy's  palace. 

In  the  meantime  Ismail  impatiently  awaited 
his  illustrious  guests.  From  time  to  time  brief 
telegrams  were  handed  to  him  to  note  the  progress 
of  the  royal  train.  As  there  was  still  a  consider- 
able interval  before  it  could  arrive,  he  made  a 
final  inspection  of  the  dahabeah  which  had  been 
specially  designed  for  the  trip  up  the  Nile,  and 
which  was  '*  furnished  with  a  luxury  such  as  even 
Cleopatra  never  dreamt  of." 

Informed  that  the  train  was  within  half  an 
hour  of  Cairo,  the  Viceroy  hastened  back  to  his 
palace  to  put  on  his  uniform  and,  as  the  whistle 
of  the  engine  was  heard,  reappeared  in  *'  a  blue 
frock  richly  laced  with  gold,  wearing  the  Order 
of  the  Osmanli,  and  with  a  curved  sword,  the 
hilt  of  which  blazed  with  diamonds,  at  his  side." 
At  the  same  time  the  Egyptian  band  struck  up 
its  weird  national  hymn,  and  the  troops  pre- 
sented arms  as  a  painted  and  decorated  engine 
appeared  on  the  rail  drawing  an  American  state 
saloon  and  the  carriages  of  the  royal  suite.  The 
train  drew  up  to  a  nicety,  and  the  Viceroy,  step- 
ping on  to  the  platform,  stood  ready  to  receive 
his  visitors. 

The  scene  on  which  the  Prince  and  Princess 


ARRIVAL  IN   CAIRO  280 

gazed  on  alighting  was  full  of  animation  and 
colour. 

''  The  broad  sheet  of  the  Nile,  crisped  by  a 
fresh  breeze,  which  drove  a  regatta-like  fleet  of 
vast-sailed  lateen-rigged  boats  upwards  against 
the  current ;  the  opposite  shore  lined  with  palm- 
trees,  shaking  their  tufted  crests  in  the  wind ; 
the  forests  of  yards  and  masts  lining  the  course 
of  the  stream  ;  and,  rising  above  them  again,  the 
tops  of  the  Pyramids  of  Gizeh ;  the  irregular 
outlines  of  the  houses  over  which  peered  the 
domes  and  minarets  of  many  mosques, — formed 
the  background  to  a  brilliant  picture,  framed  in 
a  sky  of  heavenly  blue,  of  which  the  foreground 
was  composed  of  the  colonnades  of  the  barracks 
crowded  by  soldiery,  the  strict  Hne  of  troops 
under  arms,  and  officials  in  uniform." 

Having  greeted  the  Prince  and  Princess,  the 
Viceroy  offered  his  arm  to  the  latter,  and,  escorting 
her  to  "  a  handsome  carriage  drawn  by  a  pair  of 
fine  English  greys,  ridden  by  English  postilions 
in  faultless  tops  and  leathers  and  jackets,  drove 
off  with  his  guests  to  the  palace  prepared  for 
their  reception,  followed  by  their  suite.  While 
in  the  streets  camels  and  asses,  and  people 
munching  sugar-cane,  were  jostled  aside  a  moment 
by  the  cavalcade  to  fall  into  their  places  again 
after  it  had  passed." 

If  the  Prince  and  Princess  were  not  lodged  well 
it  was  no  fault  of  Ismail.  For  weeks  past  the 
newly  built  Esbekieh  Palace,  which  the  extrava- 
gant Viceroy  intended  as  a  present  for  one  of  his 
family,  had  been  a  scene  of  incessant  and  costly 
labour. 


240  A    ROYAL   HOLIDAY 

The  apartments  of  the  Prince  and  Princess 
were  a  mass  of  enormous  chandeHers,  gigantic 
mirrors,  and  the  richest  French  furniture.  The 
one  in  which  they  slept  was  immense,  and  "  more 
like  a  state  drawing-room  at  Windsor  than  a 
bedroom/'  Silver  and  gold  were  beaten  and 
spread  out  all  over  the  furniture  and  walls.  The 
bedsteads — great  four-posters,  which  had  cost 
Ismail  £3,000  each — ^were,  posts  and  all,  of  solid 
silver. 

All  the  apartments  at  the  Esbekieh  were  as 
vast  as  they  were  gorgeous. 

*'  My  room  was  so  large,'*  says  Mrs.  Grey, 
**  that,  even  when  the  candles  were  lit,  there 
might  be  somebody  sitting  at  the  other  end  of 
it  without  your  knowing  it.  You  could  not 
even  hear  people  speaking  from  one  end  to  the 
other  !  " 

In  the  evening  Ismail  took  his  guests  to  the 
theatre,  where  a  French  company  played  a 
Palais  Royal  farce.  ''  It  was  strange  to  see  the 
fez-capped  and  turbaned  people  in  the  pit," 
observed  the  Times  correspondent  significantly, 
**  laughing  at  the  jokes  which  have  had  their 
day  in  the  coulisses  far  away.  Great  is  the 
power  of  civilisation.  Some  day  these  benighted 
Egyptians  may  be  so  much  improved  as  to 
stand  a  transformation  scene  in  an  English 
pantomime." 

But  even  here  through  the  cracks,  so  to  speak, 
in  the  new  French  veneer  one  could  faintly 
discern  the  old  East  beneath.  Three  boxes  fenced 
by  gilt  lattice-work  from  top  to  bottom,  *' behind 
which   a  certain   movement   was  visible,"   indi- 


A  FAMOUS  FESTIVAL  241 

cated  that  all  trace  of  the  time  of  Haroun  al 
Raschid  had  not  yet  been  effaced. 

The  next  day  was  the  date  of  the  departure  of 
the  annual  Pilgrimage  of  the  Holy  Carpet  to 
Mecca — the  greatest  festival  of  the  year. 

**  The  women  of  Cairo  sat  chattering  with  their 
children  in  every  safe  recess  of  the  streets.  They 
gazed  out  of  the  latticed  windows,  through  the 
sluice-like  open  traps,  through  the  open  casements, 
crowded  the  fiat  roofs,  swarmed  on  the  mosque 
tops,  and  clustered  in  the  door-ways,  clad  in 
sweeping  robes  which,  in  their  combination,  form 
such  tempting  yet  distracting  subjects  for  the 
artist  who  loves  to  paint  masses  of  coloured 
drapery.  The  men  and  boys  lined  the  streets 
and  sat  in  the  bazaar  shops — Arabs,  Copts, 
Syrians,  Jews,  Egyptians,  Turks,  Franks,  Nubians, 
Albanians,  Anatolians,  Greeks,  Persians,  Circas- 
sians— dressed  each  after  his  kind.  And  on  all 
this  shifting,  kaleidoscopic  multitude,  over  which 
the  fine  dust  rose  from  the  tread  of  many  feet, 
there  came  down  here  and  there  through  the 
chinks  in  the  lattice-screen,  which  covers  in  the 
streets,  rays  of  sunshine  that  produced  through 
the  hazy  medium  the  most  striking  and  charming 
effects  of  light  and  shade. 

''  Then  through  this  scene  imagine  the  camels 
plodding  along  with  ponderous  loads  of  green 
vetches  ;  asses  hidden  under  mounds  of  vegetables 
and  tares  for  fodder,  or  laden  with  important 
portions  of  a  small  family ;  horses  and  ponies 
with  their  riders  ;  mules  and  dromedaries  with 
their  turbaned  or  veiled  burdens;  and  then  see 
an  advanced  guard  of  native  outriders,  followed 
16 


242  A    ROYAL   HOLIDAY 

by  a  host  of  running  footmen  in  front  of  an 
open  carriage  with  prancing  horses  driven  by  an 
unmistakable  British  coachman,  capitally  turned 
out  with  a  cockade  in  his  hat  and  tops  complete, 
pressing  through  the  tlirong  with  a  great  accom- 
paniment of  strange  cries, — and  you  may  fancy 
the  expression  of  dehghted  surprise  and  curiosity 
that  animated  a  fair,  gentle  face  dear  to  so  many 
millions  in  islands  far  away/' 

One  would  like  to  know  the  thought  of  ''  the 
unmistakable  British  coachman "  as  he  drove 
through  this  bit  of  the  '*  gorgeous  East,"  and 
halted  in  the  vast  open  space  in  front  of  the 
great  mosque  where  on  a  dais  the  resplendent 
Viceroy  and  his  suite  awaited  his  English  guests. 

On  their  arrival  the  East  is  hidden  again  under 
a  thick  veneer  of  ''  troops  presenting  arms  in  the 
European  fashion,  irregular  cavalry  tapping  their 
little  saucer-like  drums,  and  the  bands  saluting 
with  the  air  'As  tu  vu  la  casqueUe.'  "     O  Ismail ! 

Ill 

The  day  before  her  departure  up  the  Nile  the 
Princess,  by  virtue  of  her  sex,  saw  what  has  ever 
been  to  Europeans  the  most  alluring  side  of 
Mohammedan  life,  because  no  ''  Christian  dog '' 
of  a  man  has  ever  seen  it  and  lived  to  tell  the 
tale — the  harem. 

Ismail's  rivalled  that  of  the  most  splendid 
Caliphs  of  Bagdad. 

The  reception  of  the  Princess  as  described  by 
Mrs.  Grey,  her  lady-in-waiting,  is  like  a  scene  in 
The  Arabian  Nights.    On  arriving  at  the  Palace  of 


Photo,  W.  &  D.  Downey. 


QUEEN    ALEXANDRA    IN    1869. 


THE   HAREM   OF  ISMAIL  248 

the  Nile,  a  vast  Oriental  pile  with  many  courts 
and  fountains,  they  were  conducted  through  an 
immense  and  beautiful  garden  to  the  entrance 
of  the  harem,  where  they  found  awaiting  them 
the  Viceroy's  mother.  La  Grande  Princesse,  his 
wives,  his  daughters,  and  a  retinue  of  slaves. 
Each  wore  a  dress  of  a  different  colour  richly 
embroidered  all  over  with  gold,  and  trousers  of 
some  soft  white  material. 

''  On  their  heads  were  enormous  tiaras,  very 
heavy,  though  splendid  with  precious  stones ; 
one  really  more  beautiful  than  another.  Neck- 
laces, too,  with  diamonds  as  big  as  a  shilling 
piece,  and  drops  of  diamonds  cut  round  like 
crystals,  and  quite  enormous. 

''  Each  had  a  ring  of  a  single  diamond  with  no 
setting  to  be  seen  at  all.  That  of  La  Grande 
Princesse  was  so  large  that  she  could  only  wear 
it  on  the  middle  finger. 

''  Each  wife  wore  a  belt  about  three  inches 
wide,  all  set  quite  close  with  very  large  diamonds, 
and  uncut  emeralds  'and  rubies.  I  never  saw 
anything  to  equal  it ;  no  gold  setting  to  be  seen 
at  all — only  these  beautiful  stones.  They  had 
also  the  Viceroy's  picture  on  the  left  shoulder  set 
in  enormous  diamonds." 

Taking  the  Princess  by  the  hand.  La  Grande 
Princesse  led  the  way,  followed  by  the  rest  in 
procession,  through  rows  of  slaves,  to  an  immense 
room.  Here  they  all  paused  a  moment  to  *'  eat 
a  cherry  on  a  most  beautiful  gold  tray,  with 
goblets  and  plates  of  gold  and  precious  stones." 
They  then  proceeded  to  another  room,  **  in  the 
middle  of  which  was  a  kind  of  round  silver  table, 


2U  A    ROYAL    HOLIDAY 

about  one  foot  high  from  the  floor,  with  large 
square  cushions  placed  all  round  it.'* 

The  Princess  having  taken  her  place  on  a 
cushion  beside  La  Grande  Princesse  d  la  Turque 
like  the  rest,  was  given  a  tortoise-shell  spoon  with 
a  coral-branch  handle  by  a  turbaned  and  trousered 
female  slave  dressed  in  black  and  yellow  satin 
embroidered  in  gold.  An  elaborate  repast  of 
many  courses  was  then  served,  most  of  which, 
when  the  tortoise-shell  spoon  was  not  employed, 
the  Princess  ate  with  her  fingers  in  the  Oriental 
fashion,  after  which  she  washed  her  hands  in 
a  silver  basin  and  dried  them  on  a  napkin  fringed 
with  gold. 

When  the  ablutions  were  over  music  was  heard, 
and  the  harem  band  appeared.  It  was  composed 
of  twenty  female  slaves  ''  wearing  trousers,  frock- 
coats,  and  gold  buttons,  etc.,  quite  European." 
They  were  followed  by  a  troop  of  dancing-girls, 
*'  some  in  yellow  satin  embroidered  in  silver,  and 
others  in  black  satin  embroidered  in  gold.  They 
all  wore  bodices  of  silver  gauze  with  a  belt  of 
gold,  very  loose,  and  a  large  clasp  or  star  of 
diamonds  and  precious  stones  hanging  down  in 
front. 

**  While  the  dancing  was  going  on  a  slave 
brought  in  a  tray  covered  with  a  black  velvet 
cloth  all  embroidered  with  pearls  and  enormous 
uncut  emeralds,  and  in  the  middle  one  enormous 
diamond  star.  The  cover  being  lifted  exposed 
small  cups  one  mass  of  diamonds.  Another  slave 
carried  a  coffee-pot,  hanging  by  three  long  silver 
chains  over  a  sort  of  lamp,  like  the  censers  used 
in  Catholic  churches,  while  still   another  poured 


THE  PRINCESS'S  DISGUISE  245 

coffee  into  the  small  diamond  cups,  each  cup 
being  handed  by  a  different  slave.  Then  followed 
a  slave  with  long  Turkish  pipes  set  with  diamonds, 
or  cigarettes  with  the  most  beautiful  holders,  all 
one  mass  of  precious  stones ;  the  mouthpiece 
itself  being  one  large  ruby  or  emerald  ! 

*'  Altogether  there  are  500  slaves  in  the  Viceroy's 
harem,  and  about  twenty  of  them  were  always 
standing  at  a  short  distance  from  our  cushions 
wherever  we  went/' 

The  impression  this  visit  produced  on  the 
Princess  was  so  delightful  that  she  expressed  the 
wish  to  see  how  she  would  look  in  a  yashmak.  The 
harem  ladies,  ''  whom  she  had  charmed,"  were 
only  too  pleased  to  gratify  her,  and,  having  dressed 
her  and  Mrs.  Grey  up  in  the  most  approved 
fashion,  were  so  entranced  with  the  effect  that 
they  entreated  them  to  drive  home  in  this  manner 
and  ''  make  the  Prince  of  Wales  believe  that  the 
Princess  had  been  kept  in  the  harem  and  a  slave 
sent  instead." 

This  the  Princess,  who  thoroughly  entered  into 
the  spirit  of  the  joke,  consented  to  do,  and  departed 
like  a  veiled  lady  of  the  East,  to  the  intense 
amusement  and  regret  of  her  hostesses,  to  whom 
her  visit  had  been  as  great  an  event  in  their  lives 
as  it  had  been  in  hers.  The  Prince,  who  was 
dining  with  the  Viceroy,  had  not  yet  returned 
when  she  reached  the  Esbekieh  Palace,  but  she 
and  Mrs.  Grey  had  at  least  ''  the  satisfaction 
of  thoroughly  mystifying  dear  M.  Kanne,  our 
invaluable  courier,"  before  their  disguise  was 
detected. 


246  A    ROYAL    HOLIDAY 

IV 

In  the  mode  of  treating  an  illustrious  visitor 
Ismail  Pasha  had  nothing  to  learn  from  the  most 
civilised  and  polished  nation  in  Europe.  All  his 
love  of  splendour  had  expressed  itself  in  the 
arrangements  for  the  excursion  of  the  Prince  and 
Princess  up  the  Nile.  If  Cleopatra  ever  journeyed 
to  the  Second  Cataract  she  could  not  have  done 
so  more  luxuriously. 

The  number  of  the  vessels  provided  for  the 
party  formed  a  little  fleet.  Nothing  like  the 
Alexandra,  as  the  Viceroy  had  named  the 
royal  dahabeah  out  of  compliment  to  his  lovely 
guest,  had  ever  been  seen  on  the  Nile.  The 
saloon  and  the  cabins,  large,  and  fitted  with  every 
requisite,  were  panelled  in  mother-of-pearl  and 
upholstered  in  blue  and  gold.  It  was  towed  by 
the ''  Faad  Rabinie  "  (the  God-protected),  on  which 
the  suite  were  accommodated  and  where  the  Prince 
and  Princess  took  their  meals.  Behind  followed 
the  *'  kitchen  steamer,"  towing  barges  containing 
provisions,  luggage,  and  animals  for  riding,  etc. 

Ismail  had  forgotten  nothing.  There  was  even 
a  barge  for  ''a  poor  unfortunate  French  washer- 
woman, and  her  husband  and  child,"  says  Mrs. 
Grey,  though  why  to  be  commiserated  is  not 
apparent.  As  escort  the  Alexandra  had  a 
steamer  containing  several  British  and  Egyptian 
officials,  to  which  was  added  the  Ornament  of 
the  Two  Seas,  chartered  by  the  Duke  of  Suther- 
land, who,  with  his  party,  which  included  Sir 
William  Russell,  the  Times  correspondent,  had 
been  invited  by  the  Prince  to  accompany  him. 


PURSUED  !  247 

It  goes  without  saying  that  the  Alexandra  and 
those  on  it  excited  the  HveHest  curiosity. 

'*  I  would  be  ashamed  to  say/'  wrote  the  Times 
correspondent,  *'  how  much  more  we  were 
interested  in  watching  the  progress  of  the  royal 
yacht,  and  in  observing  those  on  board  of  her 
than  in  scrutinising  the  sites  of  the  famous  places 
on  both  sides  of  the  river  above  Cairo.  *  There  is 
the  Princess  !  You  can  just  see  her  in  the  saloon 
on  deck  !  '  '' 

If  such  were  the  feelings  of  those  in  attendance, 
what  might  not  be  pardoned  in  some  forty 
enterprising  Britons,  male  and  female,  under  the 
guidance  of  Cook,  who  had  started  from  England 
in  pursuit,  and  counted  upon  overtaking  the  royal 
party  before  they  reached  the  First  Cataract  ? 

The  spectacle  of  this  pursuit  actually  inspired  a 
leading  article  in  the  Morning  Post. 

''  What  crime  can  the  Prince  of  Wales  have 
committed, '*  it  reflected  mockingly,  ''  that  he 
should  be  subjected  to  such  a  Nemesis  as  this  ? 
A  cat  may  look  at  a  king,  and  Mr.  Cook  doubtless 
thinks  he  and  his  forty  British  Toms  and  Tabbies 
are  quite  entitled  to  gaze  on  Royalty  at  the 
First  Cataract.  Imagine  Thebes,  the  hundred- 
gated  city,  with  a  tourist  at  each  portal  to  in- 
tercept the  royal  visitors !  Picture  the  most 
enterprising  of  Cook's  party  perched  among  the 
ruins  of  Luxor  and  Karnak,  armed  with  the 
newest  binoculars !  And  last,  but  not  least, 
conceive  the  feelings  of  the  occupants  of  the 
royal  dahabeah  on  finding  themselves  convoyed 
to  the  Catacombs  by  a  motley  flotilla,  manned 
and  womaned  by  a  Cook's  company  !  " 


248  A    ROYAL   HOLIDAY 

The  writer,  in  his  indignation,  even  went  so  far 
as  to  picture  ''  one  of  the  party  getting  near 
enough  to  secure  as  a  memento  an  empty  beer- 
bottle  whose  amber  contents  may  have  been 
quaffed  by  the  Princess  herself !  ''  O  dear  Mid- 
Victorian  England  !  Helas  I  Ou  sont  les  neiges 
d'antan  ? 

''  The  tourists  are  coming !  "  was  a  cry  that 
frequently  alarmed  Sir  William  Russell  on  this 
memorable  trip.  ''  A  cloud  of  smoke  arises  from 
a  steamer  astern,  but  after  a  time  it  is  made  out 
that  she  is  a  local  merchant  craft  bound  for  one 
of  the  sugar  factories,  and  peace  of  mind  is  re- 
stored." 

But  though  the  idea  that  Mr.  Cook  and  his 
tourists  should  venture  to  join  the  royal  party 
causes  such  perturbation  in  the  mind  of  the 
Times  correspondent,  there  can  be  no  objection 
to  our  following  it  at  a  respectful  distance. 
Indeed,  he  has  himself  invited  us  to  do  so,  and 
through  his  ''  excellent  binoculars  '*  we  too,  like 
him,  may  gaze  upon  the  Princess  as  she  travels 
up  the  Nile. 

As  usual  in  royal  tours,  the  chief  interest  of 
this  one  lies  in  little  unexpected  incidents  and 
experiences  of  daily  occurrence,  which,  too,  de- 
scribe it  more  vividly  than  the  more  formal  and 
stereotyped  official  proceedings  that  characterise 
such  journeys. 

The  Prince  and  Princess,  as  we  watch  them 
through  Sir  William's  binoculars,  are  ''by  no 
means  content  to  gaze  in  dreamy,  blissful  tran- 
quillity as  the  panorama  of  pyramids  and  ruins, 
broad  belts  of  sugar-cane  and  sand  wildernesses. 


THE   PRINCESS   ON  THE   NILE  249 

drift  past.'*  They  constantly  stop  to  land,  while 
Nature  vies  with  Ismail  to  entertain  them  fittingly. 

Last  night  the  Princess,  with  some  of  her  party, 
went  ashore  ''  in  the  most  beautiful  moonlight  for 
a  stroll,  and  came  upon  a  caravan  encamped. 
To  the  right  there  was  one  of  those  hills  of  bright 
yellow  sand  which,  shone  upon  by  the  moon, 
looked  like  gold.  To  the  left  there  were  a  few 
palms  scattered  here  and  there.  The  whole 
scene  had  the  most  complete  look  of  the  desert, 
and  was  very  Eastern  and  interesting.'* 

To-day  there  was  a  dust-storm.  ''  The  whole 
country  looked  as  if  it  had  been  covered  with 
thick  grey  gauze  so  that  only  the  tops  of  the  palm- 
trees  were  visible.  We  could  hardly  make  out 
the  Alexandra  for  the  clouds  of  dust.*' 

Again  Nature,  spendthrift  like  the  Viceroy, 
prepares  another  thrill.  *'  A  fog  on  the  Nile ! 
Not  yellow,  lung-searching,  choking,  but  white 
and  dense — a  clear  fog,  if  such  a  word  may  be 
used,  like  a  cloud  of  milk."  When  it  lifts  the 
Prince  '*  shoots  ducks  from  a  small  punt  with  a 
large  gun." 

It  even  rains  for  their  benefit  at  Benesouef 
'*  for  the  first  time  in  ten  years  !  "  No  wonder 
the  inhabitants  were  amazed. 

At  Girgeh  the  Princess  decides  to  see  the  sun 
rise  on  the  Nile.  ''  Such  a  sunrise  !  A  cloudless 
sky,  still  studded  with  twinkling  stars  in  the 
deep  blue  of  a  far  west,  while  the  east  glowed 
with  orange  and  amber." 

This  morning,  as  Sir  William  Russell  turned 
his  glass  towards  the  Alexandra  as  usual,  a 
steamer  is  discovered  approaching  in  the  distance. 


250  A    ROYAL   HOLIDAY 

''  The  tourists  are  coming !  *'  is  the  universal 
cry.  Every  glass  is  directed  to  the  ship.  At 
last  she  is  perceived  to  be  a  steamer  from  Cairo. 
The  agitated  correspondent  ''  at  once  experiences 
a  feeling  of  relief.  The  Princess  will  not  be 
driven  to  bay  in  the  desert !  '' 

Instead  she  spends  the  morning  comfortably 
with  Mrs.  Grey  sketching  on  the  deck  of  the 
mother-of-pearl  and  blue  dahabeah,  while 
"  the  Prince  lies  in  the  hot  sand  several  hours 
watching  for  crocodiles,  notwithstanding  the  burn- 
ing sun  !  " 

He  has  done  this  nearly  every  day  in  vain.  He 
is  most  eager  to  pot  a  crocodile.  ''  Any  croco- 
diles about  here  ?  '*  Ismail's  officials  are  asked 
at  every  stage  of  the  journey.  The  Governor  of 
Girgeh,  if  rightly  interpreted,  declares  that  ''  not 
one  has  visited  the  neighbourhood  for  the  last 
sixty  years."  But  the  Prince  is  not  discouraged, 
and  lo,  and  behold  1  one  at  last  falls  to  his  gun. 
Imagine  the  excitement !  Everybody  had  been 
so  anxious  that  he  should  kill  one.  Mrs.  Grey 
''  screams  for  joy.'*  The  Princess  is  followed  by 
the  whole  party,  and  they  rush  off  in  small  boats 
to  have  a  look  at  the  beast.  When  the  Prince 
returns  to  the  dahabeah  with  the  crocodile  ''  all 
the  servants  and  men  on  board  give  him  a 
hearty  cheer."  It  was  nine  feet  long  and  four 
feet  round  the  body,  and  when  opened  ''  a  quantity 
of  pebbles  were  found  in  its  stomach — two  bottles 
full !  " 

At  Girgeh,  while  the  Prince  is  shooting  ducks, 
the  Princess  has  a  laughable  experience.  Going 
for  a  row  on  the  river,  her  boat  sticks  in  the  sand 


AN  AMUSING  ADVENTURE  251 

in  two  feet  of  water  about  thirty  yards  from  the 
shore.  Two  gentlemen  of  the  party  *'  make  a 
seat  of  their  arms  and  carry  her  ashore."  The 
boatmen  offer  to  do  the  same  for  Mrs.  Grey. 
They  undress — *'  luckily  some  undergarments  re- 
main " — for  the  purpose.  But  nothing  will  induce 
her  to  trust  herself  to  their  care,  and  while  she 
waits  alone  and  nervous  in  the  stranded  boat  for 
the  gentlemen  to  deposit  the  Princess  and  return 
for  her,  ''  a  young  midshipman,  Prince  Louis  of 
Battenberg,"  who  was  of  the  party,  mounts  on 
the  back  of  one  of  the  natives  and  is  carried  ashore. 
As  soon  as  the  boat  is  refloated,  to  the  horror  of 
Mrs.  Grey  and  the  intense  amusement  of  the 
Princess,  they  all  return  to  it  in  the  same  fashion. 

To-night,  at  Girgeh,  the  Princess  adds  to  her 
menagerie,  which  already  consists  of  "  a  white 
parrot,  two  flamingoes,  a  snapping  turtle,  a 
monkey,  and  two  goats."  The  new  addition  is 
a  huge  long-legged  black  sheep  with  an  enormous 
pendulous  tail,  which  on  the  morrow  was  to  be 
converted  into  mutton.  ''  Almost  as  if  aware  of 
its  fate,  the  creature,  which  had  been  introduced 
to  the  notice  of  the  Princess  by  one  of  the  party, 
appealed  to  her  sympathy  so  strongly  that  its 
life  is  to  be  spared,  and  it  is  to  be  sent  home  to 
England." 

At  Sioot,  when  mounting  her  horse  for  a  ride, 
the  Princess  sustained  what  the  doctor  called 
*'  2L  luxation  of  the  thumb."  The  pain  was  so 
great  as  to  make  tears  come  to  her  eyes;  *'  but  she 
never  complained." 

At  Keneh  she  makes  her  first  acquaintance 
with  a  ruined  temple — ''  i,8oo  years  only,  quite  a 


252  A    ROYAL   HOLmAY 

modern  affair."  Still  the  Times  correspondent 
thought  *'  it  was  the  prettiest  picture  imaginable 
to  see  her  wandering  about  among  the  ruins,  and 
watch  her  tracing  out  the  features,  with  the  aid 
of  a  cane,  of  stony  Cleopatra  on  the  wall.  What  a 
contrast  between  our  fair  mistress  and  the  Serpent 
of  Old  Nile !  "  God  preserve  her  from  the 
tourists ! 

But  tourists,  though  the  chief  danger  to  guard  her 
from,  is  not  the  only  one.  What  nuisance  is  this 
in  antiquarian  form,  lurking  in  the  ruins  for  his 
prey  ?  ''  De  most  lubly  dings  in  Egypt.  Cleo- 
padre's  neglace !  Je  vous  prie,  altesse,  I  find  her 
myself  1  " 

Not  to  speak  of  little  difficulties  between  two 
of  the  steamers,  when  the  cackle  of  poultry  and 
gobbling  of  turkeys  in  the  provision  boat  is  quite 
overpowered  by  altercations  between  the  French 
and  Egyptian  servants.  ''  A  case  of  champagne 
opened  without  permission  and  three  bottles 
missing.  Christian  dog  thief,  Mussulman  only 
drink  water !  Then  blows  and  a  sound  of 
wailing.'* 

''  Lord  and  Lady  Renfrew "  might  almost 
imagine  themselves  out  of  the  throne-light,  but 
for  officialdom's  constant  reminders  that  they 
are  really  Prince  and  Princess  of  Wales. 

But  even  at  Luxor,  where  a  grand  reception 
awaits  them — gorgeously  attired  Pashas,  Con- 
sular Agents  in  full  uniform  and  decorations, 
flags  flying  everywhere,  and  the  banks  of  the 
Nile  crowded  with  the  principal  people  of  the 
place — it  is  possible  to  be  unconventional.  Why 
shouldn't  everybody,  including   all   the   servants 


THE   PICNIC  IN   THE   RUINS  258 

and  crew  of  the  entire  flotilla,  have  a  picnic  in  the 
ruins  of  Karnak  ? 

Accordingly,  at  midday  they  start  in  the  full 
blaze  of  the  Egyptian  sun — ''  the  Princess  on  a 
milk-white  ass,  caparisoned  in  red  velvet  and  gold, 
the  Prince  on  another  of  darker  hue,  attended  by 
some  two  hundred  people  all  in  full  cry  and  as 
merry  as  the  morn ;  all  the  suite ;  Egyptian 
valetaille  ;  French  cooks ;  Ariadne  sailors  career- 
ing gloriously  on  donkies  ;  Peter  Robinson,  the 
Prince's  Highland  piper,  in  his  kilt  ingeniously 
adapted  to  the  latitude  in  which  he  is  travelling  ''  ; 
and,  one  hopes,  the  '*  unfortunate  washerwoman/' 
We  behold  the  ''  gay  noisy  crowd  cantering 
in  a  long  stream  over  the  irrigated  lands  or  sandy 
desert  strips,  now  spreading  out  like  a  fan  of 
many  colours,  again  condensed  in  an  undulating 
cord-like  strand  over  the  plains  in  clouds  of  dust, 
all  bright  with  fantastic  dresses,  turbaned  and 
loose-robed.'' 

Inside  the  ruins  the  thermometer  stands  at 
104°,  but  a  shady  place  is  found  for  lunch  beneath 
a  vast  colonnade  and  a  portico.  The  Times 
correspondent  thought  it  excellent,  and  the  Prince 
actually  invited  '*  a  Russian  officer  and  his  wife 
who  chanced  to  be  there  to  join."  Can  it  be 
possible  that  the  same  honour  would  have  been 
extended  to  Mr.  Cook  and  his  tourists  had  they 
been  there  too  ? 

At  night  Luxor  is  en  fete.  Blue  lights  are 
burnt,  and  rockets  fly  blazing  into  the  serene, 
star-studded  sky.  The  Princess  watches  the  scene 
from  the  deck  of  the  dahabeah,  while  the  native 
boats  float  past  to  the  music  of  wild  choruses. 


254  A    ROYAL    HOLIDAY 

Her  health  is  now  completely  restored  ;  the  long 
months  of  suffering  are  forgotten,  her  spirits  are 
indomitable ;  no  amount  of  exertion  seems  to 
tire  her.  She  rides  about  in  the  blazing  sun, 
explores  mummy  caves,  investigates  catacombs ; 
''  dives  deep  down  in  the  earth  among  broken 
slabs  and  rough  stones,  followed  by  swarms  of 
Arab  children  crying,  '  Baksheesh  !  Baksheesh  ! ' 
And,  the  more  they  cry,  the  more  the  Princess 
gives.  It  is  no  use  warning  her;  she  is  always 
only  too  happy  to  distribute  baksheesh'' 

She  is  ready,  too,  for  any  adventure.  At  Philae, 
owing  to  some  mishap  to  her  milk-white  ass,  she 
mounts  a  wretched  donkey  without  a  saddle, 
*'  laughing  at  her  novel  situation."  She  seems, 
indeed,  quite  to  enjoy  it.  Has  she  not  been 
taught  to  ride  bare-back  at  Bernstorff  ?  The 
enraptured  correspondent,  trudging  along  ankle- 
deep  in  the  hot  sand,  finds  it  hard  to  keep  up  with 
her.  Will  she  never  tire,  then  ?  Not  she.  She 
is  off  again  after  dinner  to  see  the  Temple  of 
Karnak  by  moonlight. 

Suddenly  as  she  approaches,  it  is  lit  up  by 
hundreds  of  lights.  Sir  William  thinks  the  splen- 
dour of  this  illumination  the  ''  crowning  glory '' 
of  the  Nile  excursion.  Mrs.  Grey,  too,  is  entranced. 
It ''  reminds  her  of  the  Thousand  and  One  Nights.*' 

The  Princess  expresses  her  pleasure,  but  she 
is  accustomed  to  pyrotechnic  displays.  When 
the  moon  is  at  last  permitted  to  assert  its  supre- 
macy, she  has  a  carpet  spread  in  one  of  the  vast 
ruined  halls  and  sits  there  for  nearly  an  hour, 
*'  riding  away  at  last  on  her  white  donkey  full 
canter  amid  a  crowd  of  syces  with  lanterns.'' 


LADY  DUFF-GORDON'S  TRIBUTE        255 

Assouan  is  memorable  for  many  things  not 
in  the  guide-books  or  included  in  royal  tours. 
Memories  of  Assouan,  to  more  than  one,  will  be 
mournful.  It  is  here  that  Lady  Duff-Gordon, 
once  so  brilliant  and  beautiful  in  the  cultured 
world  of  Europe,  is  dying  of  consumption.  To 
pass  without  seeing  her  is  out  of  the  question. 
She  died  not  long  afterwards,  and  in  one  of  her 
last  letters  wrote  : 

'*  The  Prince  was  most  pleasant  and  kind, 
and  the  Princess  too.  She  is  the  most  perfectly 
simple-mannered  girl  I  ever  saw.  She  does  not 
even  try  to  be  civil,  like  other  great  people,  but 
asks  blunt  questions,  and  looks  at  one  so  heartily 
with  her  clear,  honest  eyes,  that  she  must  win 
all  hearts.  They  were  more  considerate  than  any 
people  I  have  ever  seen." 

At  Assouan,  too,  a  little  tragedy  occurs.  A 
young  Hungarian  noble  is  lying  dead  in  the 
cabin  of  his  dahabeah  shot  through  the  breast. 
There  are  rumours  of  ''  a  broken  heart  and  an 
actress  of  Vienna  or  Pesth ''  ;  at  any  rate  the 
dragoman  and  crew  are  on  the  way  to  Cairo  in 
irons.  ''Poor  ladl"  sighs  the  Princess.  ''It  is 
sad  to  die  so  far  from  home.'' 

No,  we  do  not  like  Assouan,  with  its  memento 
mori  incidents.  Fate  is  for  the  first  time  unkind 
to  us  at  Assouan.  Here,  where  the  Roman 
Emperor  exiled  Juvenal,  as  our  guide-book 
reminds  us,  it  is  a  case  of  Ave  atque  vale  I  To 
accompany  the  Prince  and  Princess  farther  is 
impossible  for  most  of  the  party.  The  Nile  is 
too  low  for  the  steamers.  Even  the  Alexandra 
has  to  be  abandoned  for  a  smaller  dahabeah.  in 


256  A    ROYAL    HOLIDAY 

order  to  enable  the  journey  to  the  Second  Cataract 
to  be  completed. 

''  At  first  the  Princess  will  not  hear  of  any 
obstacle,  and  announces,  '  It  is  decided  that  you 
are  all  to  come  with  us.'  "  But  it  is  not  to  be. 
Instead  there  is  a  farewell  banquet  on  the  Duke 
of  Sutherland's  Ornament  of  the  Two  Seas.  His 
''  Spanish  cook,  fondly  believing  that  he  possesses 
a  bit  of  ribbon  that  has  been  worn  by  the  Prin- 
cess," is  inspired  to  produce  a  masterpiece  of 
confectionery  in  burnt  almonds  surmounted  by 
a  flag  inscribed  with  ''  Ich  Dien."  Healths  are 
drunk  with  great  enthusiasm,  upstanding,  and 
farewells  are  exchanged.  *'  We  were  all  very  sorry 
to  part  company,"  according  to  a  certain  little 
diary,  which  the  Times  correspondent  is  privileged 
to  see.     It  expresses  what  all  feel. 

And  now  behold,  as  we  regretfully  watch  the 
Prince  and  Princess  disappear  in  the  shallow 
water,  where  it  is  impossible  to  follow  them,  the 
Cook's  tourists  actually  arrive  at  last ! 

''  Their  steamers  are  just  below  us  in  the  stream  ! 
The  tourists  are  all  over  the  place  !  Some  are 
bathing  off  the  banks ;  others,  with  eccentric 
head-dresses,  are  toiling  through  the  deep  sand  1 
They  are  just  beaten  by  a  head  in  the  race  1 
Another  day,  and  the  Prince  and  Princess  would 
have  been  at  their  mercy  1  " 

It  is  whispered  that  various  causes  of  delay 
occurred  down  the  river — that  coal  was  short  ; 
that  supplies  failed  at  certain  points ;  that  the 
steamers  ran  aground  very  often.  At  all  events, 
they  are  just  too  late,  and  are  obhged  to  '*  return 
disconsolate." 


DEPARTURE   FROM  EGYPT  257 

Some  weeks  later  the  Prince  and  Princess, 
after  continuing  up  the  Nile  some  distance, 
returned  to  Cairo,  ''  where  the  duties  of  the  great 
world,  with  all  its  fuss  and  bustle,  must  again 
begin."  Mrs.  Grey  felt  it  ''  more  strongly  for 
the  Princess,  who  had  enjoyed  it  all  immensely,*' 
than  for  herself.  Everybody  regrets  that  the 
charming,  ideal  life  is  so  nearly  at  an  end.  One  of 
the  Egyptian  officials  says,  '*  with  tears  in  his  eyes, 
that  he  wishes  he  had  never  been  born.''  Mrs. 
Grey  is  ''  quite  low  "  herself,  and  ''  looks  sorrow- 
fully at  Alexandria  as  long  as  she  can  make 
anything  out." 

Even  the  Ariadne  seemed  to  join  in  the  general 
regret,  for,  as  if  desirous  of  remaining  for  ever, 
she  collided  with  two  vessels,  and  ''  the  Princess's 
quarters  were  smashed  to  pieces;  but  she  never 
evinced  any  alarm,  and  was  quite  cool." 


It  had  been  arranged  that  the  Prince  and 
Princess  should  visit  Constantinople,  the  Crimea, 
and  Greece  before  returning  to  England;  but, 
interesting  though  the  remainder  of  the  tour  was, 
it  had  none  of  the  simple,  natural  incidents  that 
gave  the  holiday  on  the  Nile  its  charm. 

As  in  Egypt,  so  in  Turkey.  It  was  barely  a 
century  since  Constantinople  was  as  unknown  and 
inaccessible  as  Bokhara  is  to-day.  But  the  times 
were  long  past  since  the  cry,  "  The  Seraskier  is 
before  Vienna  !  "  made  Europe  tremble,  and  the 
customs  were  changing  too.  Like  his  Egyptian 
Viceroy,  the  Commander  of  the  Faithful  had  been 
IT 


258  A    ROYAL    HOLIDAY 

to  London  and  Paris,  and  acquired  ideas  and  tastes 
similar  to  those  of  his  magnificent  vassaL  The 
harem  of  Abdul  Aziz  was  furnished  d  la  Pompa- 
dour, and,  though  it  was  filled  with  odalisques,  he 
had  but  one  wife,  a  Sultana  dressed  by  Worth. 

He  received  his  guests  with  a  strange  mixture 
of  Eastern  pomp  and  Western  etiquette.  All 
that  could  ravish  the  senses  was  placed  with 
Oriental  hospitality  at  their  command.  A  palace 
as  gorgeous  as  Aladdin's  was  prepared  for  them. 
They  had  but  to  clap  their  hands,  and  slaves 
appeared  with  trays  of  gold  and  silver,  glittering 
with  gems,  and  laden  with  luscious  fruit  and  dainty 
sweetmeats.  Whatever  the  Capital  of  the  Ottomans 
could  show  or  yield  was  at  their  service. 

But  all  these  magnificent  attentions  sink  into 
nothing  compared  with  the  compliments  offered 
by  the  Sultan  himself.  In  honour  of  his  royal 
visitors  the  Padishaw,  disregarding  the  tradition 
of  Islam,  of  which  he  was  the  head,  gave  a  dinner 
at  which  not  only  European  ladies,  but  the  highest 
Turkish  officials,  were  seated  in  his  presence. 
*'  The  Princess  sat  on  his  right,  looking  very 
lovely  in  blue  satin  and  diamonds,  and  afterwards, 
with  the  other  ladies,  joined  the  Sultana  in  the 
Imperial  harem.'*  The  following  night  the  Sultan 
went  to  a  ball  at  the  British  Embassy.  It  was 
the  first  time  in  history  that  such  things  had  ever 
occurred  at  a  Mohammedan  Court ! 

The  English  Press,  which  observed  a  singular 
reticence  in  regard  to  this  tour,  broke  through 
its  reserve  to  comment  on  so  remarkable  an  event 
in  Turkish  history. 

'*  What  will  come  of  it  all  ?  "  they  asked. 


"WHAT  WILL   COME   OF  IT  ? '»  259 

Only  "  some  hope  for  the  soulless  and  unre- 
cognised Fatimas  of  the  East/'  as  one  paper 
thought,  ''  after  the  Sultan  has  dined  face  to  face 
with  the  foremost  of  England's  wives,  on  whom 
the  gaudily  robed  and  thin-veiled  damsels  of 
Stamboul  had  flocked  to  gaze  ?  " 

Only  wealth,  with  folded  or  outspread  wings, 
for  the  Christian  dogs  of  financiers,  contractors, 
and  speculators,  who  had  already  begun  to 
batten  on  the  country  ? 

Only  deposition  and  death  by  a  silken  harem- 
cord  for  sacrilegious  and  too-extravagant  Abdul 
Aziz? 

Only  bankruptcy  and  exile  for  Ismail,  in  spite 
of  his  two  millions  a  year,  and  the  English  instead 
of  the  French  treading  the  old  sic-transit-gloria- 
mundi  path  that  so  many  a  temporary  conqueror 
has  trod  before  in  the  eternal  land  of  the  Pharaohs  ? 

Or  the  reawakening  of  all  the  East,  of  which 
in  this  very  year,  1869,  there  are  already  signs 
at  the  other  extremity  of  Asia  ? 

'*  What  will  come  of  it  all  ?  ''  was  the  question 
the  Foreign  Offices  of  the  Great  Powers  were  all 
equally  and  anxiously  asking,  as  they  watched 
the  progress  of  the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Wales 
during  this  six  months'   tour. 

Could  it  be  for  mere  idle  amusement  that, 
dropping  their  incognito,  which  Ismail  had  refused 
to  recognise,  they  went  to  Constantinople,  the 
Crimea,  and  Greece  before  returning  to  England  ? 

In  1869  the  European  situation  was  critical. 
The  Eastern  Question  was  in  one  of  its  most 
agitated  phases.  Turkey  and  Greece  were  on 
the  point  of  war.     In  Athens  King  George  was 


260  A    ROYAL   HOLIDAY 

*'  threatening  to  pack  his  trunks."  And  France 
was  quarreUing  with  Prussia  over  a  railway  in 
Luxembourg.  In  Paris  journals  of  all  shades 
were  united  on  the  question.  '*  French  troops/' 
said  one,  ''  know  the  road  to  Berlin.  Waterloo 
is  still  ringing  in  our  ears  like  a  funeral  knell, 
and  the  hour  of  revenge  is  anxiously  expected  by 
all  French  patriots.'' 

The  reticence  of  the  English  Press  was  ominous. 
It  evidently  considered  the  tour  so  important 
that  it  refrained  as  much  as  possible  from  calHng 
attention  to  it.  The  sole  reference  to  the  depar- 
ture or  return  of  the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Wales 
was  a  bald  announcement  in  the  Court  Circular, 


CHAPTER   X 

QUEEN  CONSORT  AND  QUEEN-MOTHER 

I.    DEATH    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA THE    EFFECT    ON    THE    NATION ITS 

SIGNIFICANCE — THE   SYMPATHY    OF   THE   WORLD THE   IMPORTANCE    OF 

THE    QUEEN THE    VICTORIAN    AGE ITS    INTERNATIONAL    CHARACTER. 

II.    THE  GROWTH  OF  THE  MONARCHICAL  SPIRIT  IN  ENGLAND THE  GREAT 

PERSONAL  INFLUENCE  OF  THE  QUEEN KINGSHIP WHY  IT  RETAINS  ITS 

IMPORTANCE THE  CORONATION  OF  AN  ENGLISH  KING WHAT  IT  MEANS 

THE    CORONATION    OF    EDWARD    VII ENTHUSIASM    OF    THE    NATION 

THE  SPLENDOUR  OF  THE  PREPARATIONS WORLD-WIDE  INTEREST  IN  THE 

EVENT ITS    DRAMATIC    POSTPONEMENT THE    NATION'S    DISMAY GOD 

SAVE     THE     KING  ! THE     IMPRESSION     OF    A     FRENCHMAN UNIVERSAL 

SYMPATHY  FOR   THE   QUEEN AMERICAN   TRIBUTES.      III.    RECOVERY   OF 

THE  KING THE  "  SECOND  "  CORONATION ITS  SOLEMNITY THE  CORONA- 
TION OF  THE  QUEEN THE  IMPRESSION  IT  CREATED SPLENDOUR  OF  THE 

EDWARDIAN  REGIME — ITS  EFFECT  ON  THE  PEOPLE PRESTIGE  OF  QUEEN 

ALEXANDRA STRIKING  TRIBUTE  PAID  HER  BY  THE  BOERS THE  QUEEN's 

FASCINATION THE  EULOGY  OF  A  RADICAL  JOURNALIST — PIERRE  LOTl's 

IMPRESSION  OF  QUEEN  ALEXANDRA.    IV.  THE  SERIOUS  SIDE  OF  PAGEANTRY 

EDWARD    THE    PEACEMAKER MODERN   ROYALTY'S   NEED    OF    PEACE 

BELLICOSE    DEMOCRACY PERSONALITY    OF    KING    EDWARD PRESIDENT 

ROOSEVELT'S  APPRECIATION DEATH  OF  THE  KING HIS  LYING-IN-STATE 

AND  FUNERAL SORROW  OF  THE  PEOPLE QUEEN  ALEXANDRA'S  TOUCH- 
ING MESSAGE  TO  THE  NATION IMPRESSION  IT  PRODUCED.       V.    SADNESS 

OF  THE  QUEEN "  HVIDORE  " — THE  CALL  OF  THE  PAST — QUEEN-MOTHER 

AND  PEOPLE THE  NATION'S  TRIBUTE  OF  AFFECTION — ALEXANDRA  DAY 

— THE  HOMAGE  OF  A  SOCIALIST — REFLECTION  ON  THE  QUEEN'S  SIGNIFI- 
CANCE. 


On  the  19th  of  January,  1901,  it  was  officially 
announced  that  Queen  Victoria  was  indisposed. 
The  public  were  not  told  that  she  had  been  ailing 
for  some  time  past,  and  that  now  the  end  had  come. 
For  reasons  of  State  this  was  withheld,  as  such 
news  invariably  is,  as  long  as  possible. 

But  England  was  under  no  delusion.  People 
at  once  guessed  that  the  Queen  was  dying.  She 
was  eighty-four.     Yet  it  seemed  incredible.     Few, 

261 


262    QUEEN  CONSORT  AND  QUEEN-MOTHER 

even  among  the  oldest,  could  remember  a  time 
when  she  had  not  been  Queen.  She  had  reigned 
so  long  that  she  had  become,  as  it  were,  a  habit 
of  mind,  a  daily  custom  of  the  nation. 

The  next  bulletin  was  awaited  with  acute 
suspense.  When  it  appeared,  though  the  worst 
was  still  carefully  concealed,  it  was  easy  to  read 
the  truth  between  the  lines.  Death  was  now  a 
grim  certainty.  Its  shadow  hung  like  a  pall 
over  the  nation.  It  seemed  as  if  the  hush  of  an 
invisible  presence  was  over  the  land.  It  oppressed 
the  heart  with  a  vague  alarm,  and  subdued  even 
the  roar  of  the  traffic  in  the  streets. 

On  the  22nd  of  January,  when  the  great  bell 
of  St.  Paul's  tolled  the  death  of  the  Queen,  the 
solemnity  of  the  occasion  was  awe-inspiring. 
The  thought  that  she  was  dead  created  a  sense  of 
strangeness  and  loss,  of  an  unfamiliar  future  and 
chill  change. 

Her  name,  bound  up  as  it  was  with  all  that  was 
familiar  and  thrilling  in  the  lives  of  the  people 
of  ''  this  small,  sea-beaten,  immortal  land,"  had 
come  to  symbolise  England  in  the  minds  of  all 
and  all  that  England  meant  to  them.  Power  and 
increase  and  happiness,  peace  and  prosperity 
beyond  parallel  had  been  the  immeasurable  bless- 
ings of  the  nation  under  her  fortunate  sceptre 
from  the  beginning  to  the  end.  Motley's  magni- 
ficent eulogy  of  William  the  Silent  might,  with  a 
slight  modification,  be  applied  to  her:  ''While 
she  lived  she  was  the  guiding  star  of  a  great 
Empire,  and  when  she  died  the  little  children 
wept  in  the  streets." 

And  now  she  is  dead  1     ''  The  supreme  woman 


Photo,  W.  &  D.  Downey. 


QUEEN    VICTORIA    IN    1897. 


DEATH   OF   QUEEN   VICTORIA  263 

of  the  world,  the  best  of  the  highest,  the  greatest 
of  the  good,  has  gone."  And  the  wonderful 
reign  is  closed,  the  unparalleled  cycle  is  ended  ! 

Behind  the  sorrow  there  was  a  half-superstitious 
feeling  that  the  nation  had  reached  its  zenith, 
and  must  now  begin  to  decline.  It  was  as  if, 
with  the  venerable  and  venerated  Queen,  the  golden 
link  of  the  race  had  snapped.  This  ''  appalling 
truth  "  found  expression  in  many  a  pulpit  and 
in  many  a  newspaper. 

*'  We  were  finding  ourselves  somewhat  less 
secure  of  our  position  than  we  could  desire, 
somewhat  less  abreast  of  the  problems  of  the  age 
than  we  ought  to  be,  considering  the  initial 
advantage  secured.  Success  must  now  be  striven 
hard  for  ;  and,  just  when  the  impetus  has  spent 
itself,  do  we  find  a  corresponding  determination 
and  energy  to  made  good  this  deficiency  ?  There's 
the  rub." 

The  very  fact  of  such  a  question  implied  a  doubt. 
To  all  thoughtful  people  the  nation  stood  at 
the  parting  of  the  ways  of  Empire. 

The  same  sense  of  something  finished,  some- 
thing vanished,  of  uncertainty  and  insecurity, 
was  felt  by  mankind  in  general.  As  one  paper 
expressed  it,  '*  a  sob  of  sorrow  was  heard  round 
the  world."  For  the  moment  international  rival- 
ries and  controversies  ceased.  Hostile  newspapers 
in  lands  over  which  England  held  no  sway 
hastened  to  testify  their  sympathy.  It  was  as 
if  the  whole  world  was  conscious  that  its  most 
illustrious  tenant  was  taking  her  departure,  and, 
instead  of  speeding,  would  fain  stay  the  parting 
guest. 


264     QUEEN  CONSORT  AND  QUEEN-MOTHER 

From  its  kith  and  kin  on  the  other  side  of  the 
Atlantic,  England  had  a  degree  of  love  and 
sympathy  *'  the  greatest  that  was  ever  given  by 
the  United  States  in  such  a  cause  to  any  other 
land."  As  soon  as  it  was  known  that  the  Queen 
was  ill  the  American  Senate  voted  that  it  should 
officially  ask  for  news  of  her  condition.  The 
day  of  the  funeral,  when  in  London  '' '  the  meteor 
flag  of  England '  was  draped  in  mourning,  and  the 
sadly  martial  strains  of  the  '  Dead  March '  wailed 
in  the  people's  ears,"  was  observed  in  the  United 
States  as  a  day  of  *'  incomparable  bereavement." 

The  American  Press  rivalled,  and  in  cases 
excelled,  the  English  in  expressions  of  grief  and 
regret.  ''  We  feel  our  share  in  this  tragedy," 
wrote  the  American  correspondent  of  the  Times, 
''  greater  than  that  of  all  others,  than  the  English 
themselves.  These  are  not  my  words.  I  but 
echo  those  I  hear  on  all  hands,  those  which  are 
spoken  or  printed  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific." 

The  French  Press  declared  that  ''the  death  of 
this  noble  woman  is  the  most  important  event  of 
our  age  ;  the  fall  of  Bismarck  was  merely  a  trivial 
incident  in  comparison  with  it." 


Even  in  Ireland  the  universal  concern  occasioned 
by  the  death  of  Queen  Victoria  was  regarded  as 
'*  the  most  remarkable  demonstration  of  the 
brotherhood  of  men  evidenced  in  the  nineteenth 
century,  with  which  Her  Majesty's  life  was  practi- 
cally conterminous." 

This  was  because  the  Queen  had  been,  as  was 


THE   VICTORIAN  AGE  265 

very  pertinently  observed,  the  ''  Ruler  of  the 
Nineteenth  Century." 

If  her  reign  in  its  unparalleled  expansion  of 
the  British  race  revealed,  as  was  said,  ''  the 
divine  persistence,  the  splendid  continuity  of  the 
kith  and  kin  of  England,"  it  also  coincided 
very  accurately  with  a  sort  of  second  Renaissance, 
an  intellectual  movement  throughout  the  world 
which  had  accomplished  in  a  brief  span  more 
than  had  been  done  in  preceding  centuries.  For 
the  Victorian  Age  was  something  more  than  the 
national  glory  of  England.  Since  the  Reformation 
there  had  been  no  such  awakening  of  the  mind, 
no  such  remarkable  stride  in  the  path  of  progress. 
It  was  an  era  that  need  not  fear  comparison  with 
the  Golden  Age  of  Athens  under  Pericles,  or  the 
Golden  Age  of  Rome  under  Augustus.  In  art, 
in  letters,  in  music,  in  science,  in  industry,  in 
commerce,  and  above  aJl  in  the  moral  and  material 
advancement  of  the  masses,  the  Victorian  Age 
was  not  a  national  but  an  international  epoch 
in  the  history  of  civilisation.  It  had  seen  its 
**  glories  star  by  star  expire."  The  giant  breed 
had  passed.  And  now,  with  the  ruler  of  the 
nation  whose  prestige  had  dominated  it,  the 
wonderful  age  itself  had  closed.  Well  might 
Civilisation,  ''  stumbling  o'er  recollections,"  shed 
a  universal  tear,  and  at  the  grave  of  Victoria 
lament,  like  Byron  over  Rome,  its  ''  trebly 
hundred  triumphs." 

But  the  world  ever  moves  onward.  America, 
as  if  conscious  of  her  youth,  struck  the  first  note 
of  encouragement  and  hope.  Her  message  was 
to  the  effect  that,  though  the  Victorian  Age  was 


266    QUEEN  CONSORT  AND  QUEEN-MOTHER 

ended,  ''  far  on  in  summers  that  we  shall  not  see  " 
something  of  the  Victorian  Queenship  will  victori- 
ously abide  as  a  still  vital  force  wherever  the 
British  flag  is  raised  and,  indeed,  wherever  the 
Enghsh  tongue  is  heard. 

Consoled  by  this  cheering  thought,  England 
turned  back  from  the  grave  of  the  Queen  to  greet 
her  successor.  After  the  first  shock  of  her  death 
had  passed  it  was  easy  to  be  hopeful  and  full  of 
cheer.  With  a  sense  of  relief  people  realised  that 
the  death  of  the  Queen  had  really  altered  nothing. 
The  new  regime  was  merely  the  old  one  regilded 
and  refurbished. 

As  the  Irish  Times,  in  summing  up  the  situa- 
tion, prophetically  observed :  '*  The  full  effect  of 
Her  Majesty's  death  will  probably  not  be  realised 
for  some  years.'* 

II 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  things  about  the 
Victorian  era  was  the  growth  of  the  monarchical 
spirit.  This  was  noticeable  even  in  countries 
where  the  form  of  Government  was  republican. 
In  France  the  failure  of  royalty  to  maintain 
itself  was  due  not  so  much  to  any  deep-rooted 
antipathy  as  to  the  inabihty  of  royalty  to  adapt 
itself  to  democracy.  Even  there,  as  long  as 
royalty  showed  a  disposition  to  assimilate  the 
new  ideas,  the  Throne  was  preserved.  In  all 
countries  where  this  disposition  manifested  itself 
loyally,  democracy  actually  strengthened  the 
Throne.  For  the  idea  of  democracy  is  by  no  means 
incompatible  with  the  idea  of  royalty.  England 
is  an  eloquent  example  of  the  proof  of  the  com- 


ACCESSION   OF  EDWARD   VII  267 

patibility  of  the  two  ideas — providing  always  the 
one  is  loyal  to  the  other.  Loyalty  begets  loyalty. 
In  England,  thanks  to  the  wisdom  of  Queen 
Victoria,  with  the  restriction  of  the  royal  preroga- 
tives the  personal  influence  of  the  monarch  had 
proportionally  increased.  On  the  death  of  the 
Queen  the  parliamentary  correspondent  of  the 
Scotsman,  commenting  on  this  somewhat  remark- 
able fact,  wrote  to  his  paper:  '*To  say  that  the 
Queen  desired  a  certain  thing  was  to  put  its 
fulfilment  beyond  question.  The  moment  the 
personality  of  the  Queen  entered  into  the  talk 
of  the  lobby  and  her  influence  was  declared,  there 
was  acquiescence  in  it,  a  belief  in  it  which  was 
reverential.'' 

It  is  customary  to  attribute  this  revival  of 
the  monarchical  spirit  in  England  solely  to  the 
character  and  conduct  of  Victoria  as  Queen  and 
woman.  But  this  is  only  partially  true.  In  her 
effort  to  secure  the  succession,  which  was  the 
main  purpose  and  achievement  of  her  life,  she 
was  met  more  than  half-way  by  the  people  them- 
selves. For  it  cannot  be  too  strongly  emphasised 
that  democracy,  like  royalty,  is  adaptable,  and 
responds  perhaps  even  more  readily  to  the  in- 
fluences to  which  it  is  exposed. 

No  discordant  note  was  struck  on  King  Edward's 
accession.  Never  was  a  King  more  sincerely 
welcomed.  When  Parliament  was  summoned  to 
take  the  customary  oath  of  allegiance,  the  members 
flocked  from  all  over  the  country  to  take  it  with 
alacrity.  Among  the  first  was  Joseph  Chamberlain 
— far  enough  behind  him  now  lay  Republicanism 
and  *'  three  acres  and  a  cow." 


268    QUEEN  CONSORT  AND  QUEEN-MOTHER 

If  the  throne  to  which  Edward  VII  succeeded 
was  **  broad-based  upon  the  people's  will  " — a 
fact  upon  which  the  whole  British  Empire  con- 
gratulated itself — it  was  due  to  an  intense  and 
natural  desire  that  the  sudden  break  in  the 
continuity  of  the  national  traditions  and  life 
should  be  mended  as  soon  as  possible. 

The  kingship  was  the  symbol  of  this  continuity 
as  well  as  of  the  unity  it  implies — a  fact  of  supreme 
importance  in  these  modern  days.  The  kingship 
is  the  oldest  institution  in  the  land.  It  dates 
from  the  nation's  commencement.  It  was  in 
existence  before  the  earliest  records;  even  the 
Church  comes  later.  And  from  the  beginning  it 
has  been  the  point  of  union ;  first  of  the  Saxons 
among  themselves,  then  of  them  and  the  Danes, 
and  later  of  both  with  their  Norman  conquerors. 
In  the  fusion  of  conflicting  interests,  with  which 
the  struggles  of  contending  factions  always  ended 
in  the  Middle  Ages,  the  kingship  was  the  pivot 
of  reconciliation.  It  was  the  point  of  union  of 
England  and  Scotland.  Even  in  the  Cromwellian 
period  it  was  the  central  institution,  as  to  the 
interpretation  of  which  Cavaliers  and  Roundheads 
had  such  very  decided  and  opposite  views.  To- 
day the  kingship  personifies  the  unity  of  the  British 
Empire.  It  is  the  chief  link  between  the  past, 
the  present,  and  the  future. 

This  idea  was  at  the  bottom  of  the  eagerness 
with  which  the  people  of  all  classes  and  conditions 
anticipated  the  Coronation.  In  whatever  way 
one  may  regard  the  pageantry  of  royal  ceremonies, 
there  will  always  be  something  in  the  crowning 
of  a  king  to  strike  the  imagination.     Of  all  ancient 


WHAT  A  CORONATION  MEANS  269 

forms  that,  for  the  sake  of  tradition,  continue  to 
be  preserved  it  is  the  only  one  which,  in  spite  of 
the  changes  of  time,  has  lost  neither  its  meaning 
nor  importance. 

In  this  respect  the  Coronation  of  an  English 
king  is  especially  interesting  and  instructive. 
With  the  single  exception  of  the  election  and 
coronation  of  the  Pope,  it  is  the  most  antique 
ceremony  existing  in  the  modern  world.  For  one 
thousand  years  the  English  kings  have  been 
crowned  in  the  same  spot  and  in  the  same  manner. 
This  alone  is  sufficient  to  create  a  sense  of  stability, 
of  security. 

But  a  Coronation  is  no  mere  date  in  the  life  of 
a  nation.  Beneath  the  surface  of  its  pomp  and 
pageantry,  which  delight  and  dazzle  the  senses, 
lies  a  world  of  meaning,  so  strange,  so  solemn 
that  even  the  dullest  and  the  most  frivolous  are 
dimly  conscious  of  it.  It  is  in  reality  ''  the 
ratification  of  a  covenant  between  a  free  people 
accustomed  for  long  centuries  to  be  governed 
according  to  statutes  in  Parliament  agreed  upon, 
and  their  hereditary  King,  strengthened  by  a 
common  supplication  of  both  to  Heaven  that  he 
may  be  endowed  with  all  kingly  virtues  in  the 
exercise  of  his  duties.*'  Thus,  a  Coronation  comes 
very  close  indeed  to  the  primitive  conception  of 
royalty. 

The  rites  attached  to  this  ceremony  had  once  a 
very  definite  and  vital  meaning.  The  covenant 
between  the  Saxon  barbarians  and  their  king  was 
ratified  by  raising  him  aloft  on  their  shields,  with 
much  shouting  and  rejoicing.  The  Church  added 
its  mysticism  and  Feudalism  its  symbolism   to 


270     QUEEN  CONSORT  AND  QUEEN-MOTHER 

the  ceremony.  The  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages 
regarded  a  Coronation  as  a  mystical  union — like 
that  of  the  marriage  of  Venice  to  the  Adriatic. 
When  Queen  Elizabeth  was  urged  by  the  Commons 
to  marry  she  based  her  refusal  on  the  ground 
that  ''  England  was  her  husband,  espoused  to 
her  by  this  pledge  "  (the  Coronation  ring).  In 
the  same  sense  the  feudal  symbols  of  homage, 
though  less  mystical,  were  equally  significant. 
They  emphasised  the  duties  of  the  king  under  the 
covenant.     He  was  "  crowned  to  serve.'' 

Stripped  of  these  rites  of  which  the  signi- 
ficance is  now  outworn,  or  discoverable  only  by 
antiquarians  or  ecclesiastics,  the  ceremony  still 
remains  what  it  has  ever  been — a  solemn  covenant 
between  the  King  and  the  people. 

The  mass  of  the  people  naturally  did  not  stop 
to  make  these  subtle  reflections.  But  the  Press, 
to  which  they  carelessly  relegate  the  trouble  of 
thinking  for  them,  did,  and  gave  utterance  to 
them  in  many  a  leading  article. 

To  the  great  mass  of  the  people  the  Coronation 
of  Edward  VII  and  his  Consort  was  merely 
another  Jubilee.  The  novelty  of  the  event — • 
there  had  not  been  a  Coronation  for  sixty-four 
years ;  the  immense  popularity  of  the  King  and 
Queen ;  the  recent  happy  conclusion  of  the 
unpopular  Boer  War  ;  and  the  patriotic  emotions 
inspired  by  the  splendour  of  the  preparations, — 
all  contributed  to  make  it  a  great  national  festival. 
For  months  beforehand  there  was  a  carnival 
spirit  in  the  air.  As  the  great  day  approached 
expectancy  became  electric.  London,  where  it 
reached   its   highest    pitch,    was    thronged    with 


"ILLNESS   OF  THE   KING  I  "  271 

visitors  from  every  part  of  the  Empire  and  the 
world — the  pick  of  Europe  and  America,  the 
elect  of  the  Dominions,  Rajahs  and  Maharajahs 
in  gorgeous  apparel  from  India,  Kings  from  Africa, 
and  Princes  from  the  Farthest  East.  Above  the 
roar  of  the  traffic  was  heard  the  sound  of  hammers 
and  saws.  The  streets  blazed  with  fresh  colour 
at  every  turn,  as  radiantly  in  Whitechapel  as  in 
Pall  Mall.  The  weather  was  perfect.  The  deco- 
rated thoroughfares  were  given  over  to  gaiety 
and  holiday-making.  On  the  pavements  tall 
troopers  from  the  Colonies  and  magnificent 
Lancers  from  Bengal  towered  above  the  crowds. 
In  the  roadways  coster-carts  were  jammed  in 
beside  royal  carriages.  Such  was  the  spectacle 
London  presented  on  the  24th  of  June,  1902 — the 
eve,  to  all  appearances,  of  what  was  to  be  the 
greatest  pageant  in  English  history. 

And  then  suddenly,  at  the  very  height  of  the 
day,  at  noon,  a  shadow  fell  athwart  the  Empire, 
"  Illness  of  the  King  !  Coronation  Postponed  !  '' 
The  cry  echoed  and  re-echoed  throughout  London. 
A  sickening  fear  seized  the  heart.  What  did  it 
mean,  this  Belshazzar-portent,  this  strange  writing 
on  the  wall  ?  Explain  it,  ye  wise  men !  Was 
it,  as  one  would-be  Daniel  interpreted  it,  ''a 
stern  warning  sent  to  the  British  Empire,  at  the 
height  of  its  pride  and  power,  to  remind  it  of  the 
brevity  and  mortality  of  greatness  "  ? 

The  hammering  and  sawing  ceased.  The  traffic 
melted  away  in  the  decorated  streets.  As  if  by 
instinct  crowds  collected  at  Buckingham  Palace, 
the  Mansion  House,  the  Houses  of  Parliament, 
and   waited   patiently,    silently,    anxiously,  hour 


272     QUEEN  CONSORT  AND  QUEEN-MOTHER 

after  hour  for  the  bulletins.  For  days  the  nation 
was  sick  with  suspense.  Lord  Salisbury,  the 
Prime  Minister,  in  breaking  the  news  to  the 
House  of  Lords,  had  said  that  the  operation 
which  the  King  had  undergone  was  **  of  singular 
severity.''  The  Lord  Mayor  of  London  spoke 
not  only  for  the  City  but  for  England  and  the 
Empire  when  he  described  the  King  as  *'  a  person 
whom  we  love,  whose  family  we  revere,  and  whose 
dynasty  lives  in  our  affections  and  hearts."  God 
save  the  King !  was  the  thought  uppermost  in 
the  minds  of  all. 

The  announcement  that  **  it  was  the  King's 
earnest  wish  that  the  celebrations  should  be 
held  as  arranged  "  for  the  benefit  of  those  who 
would  otherwise  suffer  financial  loss  by  their 
postponement,  increased  the  sense  of  personal 
affliction. 

''  But  how  can  the  people  rejoice  now,  no 
matter  how  much  the  King  desires  it  ? "  ex- 
claimed a  Methodist  minister.  *'  They  must  feel 
somewhat  like  the  children  of  Israel  when  they 
sat  down  by  the  waters  of  Babylon  and  sorrow- 
fully asked  their  captors,  *  How  can  we  sing  the 
songs  of  Sion  in  a  strange  land  ?  '  " 

The  impression  this  dramatic  event  made  upon 
a  Frenchman,  who  had  come  to  London  with 
his  wife  for  the  Coronation,  may  perhaps  give 
some  faint  idea  of  the  general  consternation. 

*'  Everywhere  along  the  route" — between  Paris 
and  London — ^he  wrote  to  a  friend  in  France, 
**  there  was  a  widespread  gaiety,  at  the  railway 
stations,  in  the  trains,  on  the  steamboats.  We 
had  engaged  our  rooms  at  the  Carlton  Hotel. 


THE   NATION'S  DISMAY  273 

The  next  morning  we  were  greeted  by  a  bright 
sun  which  gave  promise  of  a  beautiful  day,  while 
the  brilliant  aspect  of  the  city  afforded  special 
attractions.  Under  this  impression  we  leisurely 
made  our  preparations  for  wandering  about  the 
animated  streets,  the  hum  of  which  already  reached 
us. 

''  We  went  down  into  the  luncheon-room, 
which  was  quite  full.  The  scene  was  a  picturesque 
one.  There  were  eager  conversations  carried  on 
in  nearly  all  languages,  bursts  of  laughter,  a 
constant  coming  and  going,  something  cordial 
and  resounding,  producing  an  extreme  sense  of 
ease. 

*'  All  at  once  there  was  an  instantaneous  and 
striking  silence.  We  looked  around  with  surprise, 
and,  as  the  silence  continued,  we  rose  from  our 
seats.  Everybody  was  standing  motionless,  as 
if  petrified.  In  the  middle  of  the  room  Mr. 
Ritz,  the  chief  manager  of  the  hotel,  pale  and 
dejected,  was  speaking  in  a  voice  muffled  but 
clearly  audible  to  all.  He  3aid,  '  The  Coronation 
will  not  take  place.  The  King,  after  consultation 
with  his  physicians,  is  now  undergoing  an  opera- 
tion, dangerous,  perhaps  mortal,  which  has  been 
deemed  absolutely  and  immediately  necessary.' 

**  Everybody  was  stupefied.  Then,  after  a  few 
moments'  silence,  there  was  a  rush  to  the  galleries, 
the  Palm  Court,  the  ground-floor  salons,  and  to 
the  Exchange  Company's  Office,  where  the  tapes 
continued  to  unroll,  and  where  further  information 
was  hoped  for. 

"  At  this  moment,  for  there  is  always  a  touch 
of  comedy  in  every  drama,  an  enormous  omnibus 
IS 


274     QUEEN  CONSORT  AND  QUEEN-MOTHER 

piled  up  with  luggage  stopped  before  the  chief 
entrance.  It  contained  a  Californian  family — 
father,  mother,  five  boys  and  girls  from  sixteen 
years  old  downwards,  and  four  servants.  They 
had  engaged  for  a  large  sum  rooms  looking  out 
on  the  line  of  the  procession,  and  were  preparing 
to  go  up  to  them.  The  children  had  already 
taken  possession  of  the  ground-floor  and  were 
frolicking  among  the  crowd  as  if  the  hotel  belonged 
to  them.  The  parents,  however,  struck  by  the 
unusual  aspect  of  things,  asked  a  waiter  what 
had  happened.  On  being  told,  the  wife,  who  had 
been  travelling  almost  uninterruptedly  for  a 
fortnight,  said  calmly  to  her  husband,  after  a 
moment's  surprise  : 

'*  '  Mind  you,  Joby,  we  shall  only  have  light 
luggage  taken  up,  and  to-morrow,  if  possible,  we 
will. start  for  home  again.' 

''  '  All  right,'  tranquilly  replied  the  husband. 

"  I  have  never  seen  anything  sadder  than  the 
demeanour  of  the  people  around  them.  At 
ordinary  times  this  scene  would  have  caused  in- 
describable merriment;  but,  though  everybody 
perceived  how  really  comical  were  the  arrival, 
the  surprise,  and  the  brief  dialogue,  there  was  not 
the  slightest  smile  on  the  lips  of  the  spectators. 

**  The  next  evening  the  Carlton  was  to  have 
given  a  grand  dinner,  followed  by  a  brilliant 
concert.  By  the  King's  express  desire  that  '  all 
celebrations  should  be  held  as  already  arranged,' 
this  entertainment,  along  with  the  others,  was 
proceeded  with.  The  hall  was  most  lavishly 
decorated  and  every  table  was  occupied,  but  there 
was  no  gaiety,   and  conversation  was  almost  in 


AMERICA'S   SYMPATHY  275 

a  whisper.  The  concert  was  a  little  shortened, 
and  at  one  point  a  lady  who  sang  was  asked  to 
give  the  National  Anthem.  The  entire  company 
rose  and  joined  in  it,  but  in  some  parts  of  the  hall 
there  were  sobs.  Whether  foreigners  or  not,  the 
women  wept,  and  nearly  all  the  men  had  tears 
coursing  down  their  cheeks.  The  vocalist,  affected 
by  these  tears  and  sobs,  went  into  hysterics. 
The  concert  stopped,  and  the  company,  dejected 
and  silent,  left  the  hall.  Nearly  all  went  to  their 
rooms.  The  few  who  remained  conversed  in  low 
tones  on  the  fatality  which  had  befallen  England 
and  her  King.*' 


Abroad  this  sudden  and  dramatic  climax  to 
the  parade  of  Imperial  grandeur  created  a  profound 
impression.  On  the  Continent  and  in  America 
people  eagerly  awaited  the  bulletins  from  London. 
In  the  little  Swiss  town  of  Neufchatel  a  newspaper 
gratuitously  distributed  fly-sheets  giving  the  news 
of  the  postponement  of  the  Coronation,  the  opera- 
tion undergone  by  the  King,  and  the  dismay 
pervading  London. 

Sincere  sympathy  was  expressed  in  quarters 
where  it  was  least  expected.  An  Anglophobe 
journal  in  New  York  published  a  glowing  tribute 
to  the  King.  *'  Whatever  the  emergency  or 
peril,*'  it  wrote,  '*  we  know  that  the  King,  if  he 
survive,  will  wisely,  firmly,  tactfully  uphold 
international  justice  and  peace.  His  motives  are 
pure,  his  qualities  in  that  proportion  which  make 
for  true  statesmanship,  and  his  opportunities  may 


276    QUEEN   CONSORT  AND  QUEEN-MOTHER 

win  for  him  the  highest  attributes  of  greatness  in 
the  eyes  of  his  own  people  and  mankind." 

Nor  was  ''  the  gentle  Queen,  who  was  to  have 
shared  in  the  full  triumph  of  her  husband,  and 
who  has  at  once  unflinchingly  taken  up  her  post 
of  duty  in  the  sick-room,"  forgotten.  The  sym- 
pathy expressed  for  her  was  great  and  universal. 

Telegrams  were  continually  arriving  at  Buck- 
ingham Palace  addressed  to  the  Queen,  which 
testified  eloquently  not  only  to  the  way  in 
which  the  King's  danger  was  regarded,  but  to  the 
loyalty  which  her  first  presence  in  England  was 
sufficient  to  excite.  The  hope  was  general  that 
'*  the  national  feeling  towards  Her  Majesty  would 
be  furnished  with  an  opportunity  for  its  ex- 
pression." 

From  the  United  States,  though  she  had  never 
been  there,  she  received  many  tokens  of  sympathy 
which  proved  in  a  remarkable  way  how  deeply 
her  personality  appealed  to  Americans.  The 
papers,  in  pleading  for  fuller  accounts  of  her  health, 
declared  that  the  sympathy  felt  for  her  was  as 
sincere  as  the  admiration  and  affection  she  had 
long  inspired.  That  in  her  distress  she  should 
have  found  the  time  to  receive  the  American 
Ambassador  and  his  wife  before  their  departure 
from  London  was  "  greatly  appreciated  as  de- 
noting her  sense  of  America's  profound  sympathy." 

Ill 

King  Edward,  favourite  of  Fortune  that  he  was, 
made  a  remarkable  recovery.  When  pronounced 
out  of  danger  the  doctors  declared  that  it  would 


"LEST  WE  FORGET"  277 

be  some  months  before  he  would  be  well  enough 
to  endure  the  fatigues  of  the  Coronation  cere- 
monies. Nevertheless,  so  rapid  was  his  recovery 
that  in  six  weeks  he  was  able  to  be  crowned. 

The  *'  second  **  Coronation,  though  very  im- 
pressive, fell  somewhat  short  of  what  had  been 
originally  intended.  There  were  fewer  distin- 
guished personages  present,  and  most  of  the  Indian 
and  Colonial  contingents  had  departed  for  their 
respective  countries.  The  crowds  were  less  in- 
souciant, the  gaiety  less  exuberant.  The  note 
now  was  one  of  thanksgiving  rather  than  of 
triumphant  national  pride.  ''  Lest  we  forget  " 
was  the  thought  uppermost  in  the  minds  of  all. 
As  Queen  Alexandra  remarked  to  the  Archbishop 
of  York,  ''  It  was  quite  different  from  the  last 
time.  Then  we  were  thinking  too  much  of  the 
pageant,  and  not  enough  about  the  religious  part 
of  the  ceremony.'' 

The  present  occasion  was  more  of  a  private 
national  event.  The  public  seemed  more  conscious 
of  the  solemnity  of  the  covenant,  of  the  signifi- 
cance of  the  mystical  union  between  the  King 
and  the  people.  And  this  perhaps  was  the  true 
interpretation  of  the  ''  portent ''  of  the  King's 
sudden  illness. 

As  the  Queen  advanced  up  the  nave  of  West- 
minster Abbey,  '*  matchless  and  superb,"  in  robes 
such  as  no  other  English  queen  had  ever  worn 
before,  a  thrill  ran  through  the  vast  assembly. 

**  It  seemed,"  said  one,  describing  the  effect 
she  produced,  *'  as  though  there  burst  upon  the 
imagination  for  the  first  time  the  full  sense  of 
what  a  Coronation  means." 


278    QUEEN  CONSORT  AND  QUEEN-MOTHER 

The   brief,   brilliant   reign   that    followed   was 
the  after-glow,  so  to  speak,  of  the  splendour  of 
Victoria's.     There  was  something  about  it  of  the 
pomp  of  a  gorgeous  Venetian  sunset.     England 
seemed  perpetually  en  fete.     There  was  a  continual 
va-et'Vient  of  royalty.     Never  had  there  been  so 
many    state    visits   of    kings    and    queens    and 
distinguished  personages.     Never  since  the  Middle 
Ages  had  there  been  such  a  time  when  so  much 
importance     was     attached    to    pageantry    and 
ceremonial.     Picturesque  old  forms  and  elaborate 
ceremonies  long  hidden   away    in   the   attic    of 
history  were  resurrected.     All  the  trappings  of 
kingship  were  reblazoned.     Splendour  exuded  its 
subtle  perfume  and  gladdened  the    senses.     Its 
spirit  infected  all  classes.     The  joie  de  vivre  was 
contagious.     It  was  good  to  be  alive. 

Democracy  gladly  wore  the  livery  of  royalty. 
The  drab  lives  of  the  poor  were  continually  flecked 
with  colour  and  tinged  with  romance.  The  people 
participated  in  the  pomp  of  the  Court  as  they 
had  not  done  for  centuries.  For  the  Sovereign 
performed  his  chief  duties  and  took  his  chief 
pleasures  in  public.  Sometimes  it  is  a  gala  night 
at  the  opera,  when  the  spectacle  of  royalty 
flashing  in  state  through  the  Rembrandt-lit  gloom 
of  the  streets  is  incomparably  more  artistic  and 
impressive  than  when  beheld  in  the  glare  of  an 
electric-lit  opera-box  in  the  midst  of  the  dazzle 
of  decorations  and  diamonds.  Sometimes  it  is 
a  royal  progress  in  broad  daylight  along  streets, 

flagged  and  sanded,  as  far  as  the  eye  can  see 

Here  they  come  !    a  sense  of  elation,  the  pressure 
of  the  crowd  a-tiptoe,  the  breaker-roar  of  cheers, 


THE   BOERS'   TRIBUTE  279 

hats,  and  handkerchiefs  in  the  air,  a  flash  of 
scarlet,  a  ghmpse  of  the  jovial  King,  the  unfor- 
gettable smile  of  the  Queen,  the  clatter  and  clink 
of  the  escort — all  in  a  second — and  some  instinc- 
tive compelling  impulse  of  loyalty  and  a  faint 
stirring  of  I  know  not  what  inherited,  atavistic 
memories. 

In  the  pageants  of  the  reign  the  Queen,  no  less 
than  the  King,  was  ever  in  the  very  centre  and 
foreground  of  the  stage.  Of  the  many  proofs 
that  could  be  cited  of  the  great  importance  with 
which  she  was  regarded  two  are  particularly 
significant.  The  first,  as  was  fitting,  was  given 
by  the  King  himself  when,  within  three  weeks 
of  his  accession,  he  created  Queen  Alexandra, 
by  a  special  statute,  a  Lady  of  the  Garter.  By 
this  distinction,  which  was  unprecedented,  King 
Edward  marked  at  the  very  outset  of  his  reign 
his  determination  to  emphasise  the  dignity  of 
her  status  and  to  associate  it  with  his. 

The  other  was  the  presentation  to  the  Queen 
on  the  King's  birthday  in  1907  of  the  CuUinan 
Diamond,  which  had  been  recently  discovered  in 
South  Africa  and  was  the  largest  in  the  world. 
This  noble  gift  had  been  subscribed  and  paid  for 
by  the  Boers  at  General  Botha's  instigation.  It 
was  offered  as  ''  a  token  of  reconciliation,"  and 
proved  in  a  singularly  graceful  way  how  far- 
reaching  was  the  spell  of  the  Queen's  personality. 

The  admiration  she  aroused  at  her  Coronation 
in  1902  was  still  as  great  as  at  her  marriage  in 
1863.  The  sentiment  she  inspired  is,  perhaps, 
easier  to  understand  from  the  fact  that,  in  the 
interval  of  thirty-nine  years  since  her  arrival  in 


280  QUEEN  CONSORT  AND  QUEEN-MOTHER 

England  as  a  bride,  her  beauty  had  suffered  no 
diminution.  Such  cases  are  so  rare  as  to  be 
historical.  At  seventy  Ninon  de  L'Enclos  was  still 
capable  of  inspiring  love.  The  beauty  of  the 
Empress  Eugenie  was  at  its  meridian  when,  at 
forty-five,  she  fled  from  the  Tuileries.  How 
indulgent  Father  Time  was  to  Queen  Alexandra 
may  be  gathered  from  the  following  effusion  of 
a  young  Radical  journalist  at  her  Coronation  : 

'*  There  isn't  going  to  be  any  gush  in  this 
article.  Queen  Alexandra  is  a  woman,  a  charming 
woman  and  a  good  woman — just  that  and  nothing 
more.  But  what  more  could  she  be  ?  I  have 
never  spoken  to  her,  but  I  have  often  seen  her. 
She  casts  a  spell.  Her  graceful  figure  and  carriage, 
her  handsome  face,  and  the  way  she  has  of  smiling 
with  her  mouth — those  qualities  produce  this 
effect  upon  men,  that  they  actually  fall  in  love 
with  her.  Not,  of  course,  to  the  extent  of  causing 
them,  with  hang-dog  air,  to  wander  alone  in  the 
moonlight.  But,  in  the  fascination  of  her  presence, 
they  really  do  fall  in  love  with  her.  It  was  so 
when  she  came  to  England  at  eighteen  to  be 
married.  It  is  so  now  when  she  is  fifty-eight. 
That  this  is  her  age  would  seem  to  be  the  in- 
credible fact.  Her  appearance  gives  the  calendar 
the  lie  direct." 

Still  more  remarkable  was  the  effect  she  pro- 
duced at  sixty-five  on  Pierre  Loti. 

*'  It  was  during  my  first  and  only  visit  to 
London  at  the  end  of  the  '  season  *  in  1909.  At  a 
ball  at  the  French  Embassy  at  which  I  arrived 
about  midnight,  I  observed,  in  one  of  the  rooms, 
a  woman  standing  against  the  wall  from   whom 


Photo,    W.   &  D.   Downey. 
QUEB:N   AI.EXANDRA   IN    1905    WITH   HER    GRANDSON,    PRINCE    GEORGE- 


PIERRE  LOTI'S  IMPRESSION  281 

the  dancers  appeared  to  keep  at  a  respectful 
distance  as  they  revolved  past  her — a  slender, 
youthful  woman  with  a  smile  on  her  face.  She 
was  dressed  entirely  in  black  of  some  diaphanous 
material  with  a  sort  of  pale  fire,  like  the  flame  of 
alcohol,  round  the  bottom  of  the  skirt. 

''  When  someone  said,  '  It  is  the  Queen,'  deceived 
by  her  youthfulness,  I  should  have  doubted  it. 
But  I  had  caught  a  glimpse  of  her  driving  the 
previous  day,  and  I  recognised  the  fine  profile. 
Besides  her  diamond  coronet  was  a  couronne 
fermee,  such  as  only  queens  have  the  right  to  wear. 

''  Later,  when  she  left  the  hall,  I  observed  her 
again.  From  under  her  cloak  of  grey  fur  peeped 
the  dress  of  black  gauze  with  its  pale  flames. 
Her  head  was  uncovered,  save  for  the  scintillating 
couronne  fermee.  The  cruel  light  fell  full  upon  her. 
But  she  still  looked  young." 

The  next  day  the  author  of  Pecheur  d'Islande, 
Fantome  d' Orient,  Madame  Chrysantheme,  and 
many  other  familiar  masterpieces  had  the  honour 
of  being  received  by  Queen  Alexandra  at 
Buckingham  Palace.  She  was  on  the  point  of 
leaving  London.     The  Palace  was  already  closed. 

"  It  was  high  noon.  Nothing  stirred  in  the 
great  gravelled  courts.  The  Palace  loomed 
morose  and  silent,  like  an  empty  building.  A 
lacquey,  however,  appeared  as  my  carriage  drew 
up  at  some  private  entrance,  and  ushered  me  into 
a  modest  parlour.  Immediately  afterwards  a 
pleasant  elderly  woman,  some  lady-in-waiting  or 
other,  entered  and  requested  me  to  follow  her,  in 
French  sans  accent.  She  conducted  me  through 
dark,  narrow  corridors  to  a  little  lift  with  two  seats 


282     QUEEN  CONSORT  AND  QUEEN-MOTHER 

which  she  worked  herself.  It  stopped  at  the  first 
story,  and,  having  passed  through  more  dark  cor- 
ridors, we  arrived  at  a  room  looking  out  upon  trees. 

''  *  Remain  here,'  she  said,  '  and  I  will  inform 
Her  Majesty.' 

''  With  this  she  vanished,  and  I  saw  her  no 
more.  Left  alone,  I  granted  myself  the  privilege 
of  glancing  round  this  private  apartment  in  the 
hope  that  it  would  reveal  a  little  of  the  personality 
of  the  Sovereign.  It  contained  no  suggestion  of 
splendour  or  of  luxury.  It  was  a  modest  room 
with  an  air  of  neatness  and  simplicity,  rather 
severe  perhaps,  but  in  perfect  taste.  It  seemed 
as  if  it  said  that  she  who  dwelt  in  it  submitted 
to  pomp  and  pageantry.  On  the  walls,  on  the 
furniture,  there  were  quantities  of  framed  photo- 
graphs, most  of  them  in  plain  leather  frames, 
but  photographs  of  princesses  and  empresses 
autographed  with  grand  names. 

''  Suddenly  the  Queen  appeared — the  Queen, 
as  astonishingly  young  by  day  as  by  night,  and 
clad  so  simply  that,  had  it  not  been  for  the  supreme 
distinction  of  her  person,  nothing  would  have 
betrayed  her  rank.  The  pause  before  she  spoke 
seemed  to  deepen  the  stillness  of  the  empty 
Palace.  It  is  very  embarrassing  to  talk  for  the 
first  time  to  one  of  whom  you  know  nothing, 
above  all  one  enveloped  in  royal  majesty,  and  who 
knows  much  of  you  through  books  in  which  you 
have  revealed  yourself  too  plainly.  When  the 
Queen  spoke  of  my  travels,  my  books,  I  experi- 
enced something  like  remorse  as  I  thought  of 
my  attacks  on  England,  and  I  entangled  myself 
in  embarrassed  excuses. 


A  MEMORABLE  EXPERIENCE  283 

"  '  Oh/  interrupted  the  Queen,  with  a  trust- 
fulness which  touched  me  more  than  if  she  had 
reproached  me,  '  that  belongs  to  the  past,  I  am 
sure/ 

'*  '  Yes,  madame,'  I  replied,  '  that  belongs  to 
the  past/  Then  I  recalled  uneasily  a  certain 
article  on  Rangoon,  about  to  appear,  in  which  I 
had  bitterly  criticised  the  British  occupation  of 
Burmah.  Mon  dieu  !  shall  I  have  time  to  sup- 
press it,  at  least  to  tone  it  down  ?  Oh,  the  gentle- 
ness, the  goodness,  the  rectitude,  apparent  from 
the  very  first  moment  in  this  Queen  !  .  .  . 

*'  After  a  time  which  appeared  to  me  very  short 
but  which  was  almost  long  for  an  audience.  Her 
Majesty  deigned  to  ask  me  if  I  would  like  to  see 
the  Palace.  To  see  it  in  such  company  never 
should  I  have  dared  to  hope  !  She  rose,  and  I 
followed  her  for  a  never-to-be-forgotten  promenade 
in  the  vast  deserted  pile. 

''  From  the  simple,  unpretentious  private  apart- 
ment we  passed  suddenly  into  magnificent  saloons 
with  gilded  ceilings,  marble  colonnades,  and 
walls  covered  with  priceless  masterpieces,  without 
meeting  a  soul.  The  Queen,  with  her  exquisite 
hand,  unlocked  and  opened  the  heavy  gilded  doors 
as  we  passed  through  the  deserted  and  silent 
rooms,  in  all  of  which,  though  about  to  be  aban- 
doned, there  were  clusters  of  blue  hortensias, 
pink  azaleas,  orchids  and  lilies,  arranged  as  if  for 
d^feteV 

Among  the  various  objects  the  rooms  con- 
tained, the  Queen  indicated  two  full-length 
portraits  of  herself  and  discussed  their  merits 
with  Pierre  Loti.     She  also  pointed  out  a  picture  of 


284    QUEEN  CONSORT  AND  QUEEN-MOTHER 

Queen  Victoria,  ''  a  dear  little  child  in  a  charming 
early  nineteenth-century  group,"  and  asked  him 
if  he  could  guess  who  it  was.  She  stopped,  too, 
"with  an  expression  of  wonderful  tenderness,"  to 
show  him  the  portrait  of  the  son  of  whom  death 
had  robbed  her — the  young  Duke  of  Clarence. 

*'  By  the  delicacy  and  adorable  simplicity  of 
her  manner  my  guide  almost  made  me  forget 
that  she  was  not  only  the  grande  dame  she  had 
the  air  of  being,  but  that  she  was  also  Alexandra 
of  Denmark,  Queen  of  England,  and  Empress  of 
India,  who  on  great  occasions  entered  these  rooms 
in  state,  glittering  with  historic  diamonds,  and 
took  her  place  on  the  throne  which  to-day  was 
covered  up  like  any  ordinary  chair  ! 

''  In  this  fashion  we  arrived  in  a  vestibule  over- 
looking a  monumental  staircase.  Her  Majesty 
extended  her  hand.  While  I  bowed  over  it  she 
disappeared,  and  I  found  myself  suddenly  quite 
alone  and  conscious  of  an  affinity  for  this  Queen 
so  visibly  noble  and  good. 

"  It  was  evidently  intended  that  I  should 
descend  the  stairs.  But  where  was  I,  in  what 
part  of  this  Palace  ?  Inquiry  was  impossible. 
There  was  not  a  vestige  of  life  anywhere.  After 
ascending  in  a  little  lift,  almost  clandestinely,  I 
now  descended  by  a  grand  staircase,  not  knowing 
whither  I  was  going.  At  the  bottom  there  were 
magnificent  rooms,  all  deserted  and  still.  I 
passed  closed  doors  not  daring  to  knock,  daring 
still  less  to  open  them.  After  several  minutes  I 
met,  by  chance,  a  lacquey  who  conducted  me  to 
the  entrance  where  my  carriage  awaited  me. 

**  If  I  had  seen  Buckingham  Palace  under  any 


THE  MASQUE   OF  DUTY  285 

other  circumstances,  one  of  a  crowd  on  a  state 
occasion,  I  should  probably  retain  no  lasting 
impression.  But  that  Queen,  those  flowers,  the 
solitude,  the  stillness  !  I  felt  as  if  I  had  been  in 
an  enchanted  palace."  ^ 

IV 

The  splendour  which  characterised  KingEdward's 
reign  was  inspired  by  no  mere  vulgar  desire  for 
display  or  idle  love  of  amusement.  Beneath 
its  outward  semblance  of  pleasure  and  licence  lay 
a  definite  and  serious  purpose,  which  the  King 
pursued  indefatigably.  The  pageant  of  his  '*  nine 
crowded  years  of  kingship  "  was,  so  to  speak,  a 
masque  of  duty. 

It  is  not  in  oflice  hours,  during  the  ordinary 
routine  of  the  day's  work,  as  every  business  man 
knows,  that  the  most  important  affairs  are  trans- 
acted. The  clerks  merely  ratify  then  in  con- 
ventional forms  the  bargains  which  have  been 
concluded  in  the  hours  and  places  of  recreation 
when  their  chiefs  meet  in  friendly  intercourse. 

It  was  precisely  by  adhering  to  this  well- 
tested  precept  that  King  Edward  displayed  that 
*' business  instinct"  which  enabled  him,  as  the 
**  senior  partner  in  the  old-established  firm  of  the 
British  Empire,"  as  he  was  once  described,  to 
accomplish  so  much  for  the  nation.  The  splendour 
in  which  he  lived  was  merely  the  British  Empire's 
business  advertisement.  Personally  he  was  him- 
self totally  devoid  of  ostentation.     There  was  not 

^  "  Une  furtive  silhouette  de  Sa  Majest6  la  reine  Alexandra," 
par  Pierre  Loti.     Figaro,  Paris,  20  Mai,  19 10. 


286     QUEEN  CONSORT  AND  QUEEN-MOTHER 

an  atom  of  pose  about  him.  He  always  used 
the  pageantry  of  kingship  for  the  service  of  the 
State,  never  for  display.  During  his  reign 
England  made  more  treaties,  and  more  important 
ones,  than  in  the  same  space  of  time  in  all  her 
previous  history.  This  achievement  was  entirely 
due  to  the  personality  of  the  King,  which  found 
unrivalled  opportunities  for  expressing  itself,  not 
only  in  the  interchange  of  friendly  visits  with  all 
the  sovereigns  of  Europe,  which  gave  such  lustre 
to  his  reign,  but  also  in  the  pursuit  of  pleasure  or 
health. 

His  reign  was,  so  to  speak,  a  sermon  without 
words  of  which  the  text  was  Peace.  He  advocated 
it  unceasingly  at  home  and  abroad  alike.  Edward 
the  Peacemaker  he  was  termed. 

In  reality  it  was  not  so  much  his  desire  for  peace, 
but  the  skill  with  which  he  advocated  it,  that 
thus  distinguished  him  from  the  other  kings  of 
his  time.  Nothing  is  more  absurd  than  to  imagine, 
as  many  frequently  do,  that  kings  are  naturally 
warlike,  or  at  least  indifferent  to  war.  Such  an 
opinion  is  absurd,  not  because  its  falsity  is  based 
on  prejudice,  but  on  superficiality  and  ignorance. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  since  the  French  Revolution 
royalty  has  been  an  essentially  pacific  institution. 
War,  even  if  successful,  is  a  direct  menace  to  its 
existence.  A  fatal  war  means  extinction.  There 
have  been  no  truer,  more  selfish  lovers  of  peace 
than  the  kings  of  modern  times.  Those  who  have 
loved  it  most  have  had  the  most  reason  to  fear  the 
effects  of  war.  Those  who  might,  with  a  sem- 
blance of  truth,  be  termed  indifferent  to  war  have 
been  only  seemingly  so.    ''  L' empire,  c'est  la  paix," 


BELLICOSE   DEMOCRACY  287 

was  no  mere  political  catch-word  of  Napoleon  III 
intended  to  deceive  the  world,  but  the  expression 
of  a  natural  conviction  that  the  security  of  the 
throne  to  which  he  aspired  depended  on  peace. 
No  king,  nowadays,  dreams  of  going  to  war  who 
has  not  the  nation  behind  him.  It  is  democracy, 
not  royalty,  which  is  bellicose  in  modern  times. 
The  wars  of  the  nineteenth  century  and  after  have 
been  wars  of  peoples — even  when  not  popular — 
and  the  people  fight  with  a  ferocity,  with  an 
implacable  hatred  such  as  the  pre-Revolutionary 
kings,  who  did  unleash  the  dogs  of  war  when  it 
pleased  them,  were  quite  incapable  of. 

But  to  denounce  democracy  for  this  Genghis- 
like spirit  is  not  altogether  fair.  Autres  temps, 
autres  mceurs.  The  spirit  of  chivalry  breathed 
its  last  at  Fontenoy.  It  is  only  its  ghost  which 
has  been  seen  occasionally  since.  War  is  a 
desperately  serious  adventure  to-day.  The  old 
kings  fought  for  glory ;  democracy  fights  to  win. 

Perhaps  this  is  not  so  ignoble  as  it  sounds. 
One  does  not  gather  figs  from  thistles.  Glory  is 
out  of  date  and  unpractical.  Besides,  King 
Demos,  in  reality,  loves  peace  as  much  as  royalty, 
and  only  becomes  bloodthirsty  when  goaded  by 
the  political  and  journalistic  agitators  who  lead 
him  by  the  nose,  like  the  big,  foolish  bear  he  is. 

It  is  not,  however,  as  a  peacemaker  that  King 
Edward  will  be  chiefly  remembered  by  posterity. 
His  efforts  to  preserve  peace,  of  which  he  so  well 
knew  the  value,  were,  after  all,  only  successful  as 
long  as  he  was  able  to  direct  them  personally. 
The  effect  of  the  removal  of  his  guiding  hand 
was  very  soon  apparent.     It  is  rather  as  a    re- 


288    QUEEN  CONSORT   AND  QUEEN-MOTHER 

markable  personality  that  he  will  be  remembered 
when  all  that  he  did,  or  tried  to  do,  is  forgotten. 
The  great,  outstanding  feature  of  his  personality, 
of  which  his  love  of  peace  and  the  tact  for  which 
he  was  noted  were  the  natural  products,  was  the 
open  and  manifest  joy  he  took  in  life.  He  not 
only  loved  the  joy  of  living  for  himself,  but 
loved  to  bring  it  into  the  lives  of  others.  This 
was  the  secret  of  his  spell,  as  sympathy  was  that  of 
Queen  Alexandra's.  That  hers  supplemented  his 
was  not  the  least  of  the  gifts  that  Fortune  lavished 
on  him. 

"  King  Edward,''  said  President  Roosevelt, 
'*  had  the  faculty  of  doing  the  right  thing  to  a  hair. 
When  I  was  inaugurated  President  in  1904  he  sent 
me,  although  at  that  time  we  had  never  met, 
together  with  one  of  the  kindest  and  friendliest 
letters,  a  very  beautiful  miniature  of  John  Hamp- 
den from  Windsor  Castle.  Of  the  many  gifts  I 
received  none  touched  me  so  much,  save  a  ring 
containing  the  hair  of  Abraham  Lincoln.  Hamp- 
den is  one  of  my  heroes,  along  with  Timoleon, 
Washington,  and  Lincoln.  The  King  chose  the 
gift  which  he  could  send  with  perfect  dignity  and 
I  could  accept  with  entire  pleasure  and  apprecia- 
tion. I  had  already  been  struck  by  the  efficiency 
with  which  he  did  his  work  and  the  extraordinary 
appreciation  he  was  receiving  abroad,  and  this 
incident  enabled  me  to  understand  why  he  had 
become  such  a  power  in  international  affairs  and 
why  all  his  people  regarded  him  with  ever- 
increasing  devotion." 

How  well  he  understood  the  times  in  which  he 
lived  is  illustrated  by  the  importance  he  attached 


DEATH   OF  EDWARD   VII  289 

to  the  Prime  Minister.  Strange  as  it  seems,  this 
office,  which  dated  from  the  time  of  George  I, 
who  "  allowed  the  appearance  of  a  Prime  Minister 
to  represent  him ''  at  Cabinet  meetings  which  he 
found  irksome  to  attend  owing  to  his  inability 
to  understand  the  English  language,  was  not 
formally  recognised  in  the  official  order  of  pre- 
cedence. It  often  happened  that  at  Court  functions 
the  Prime  Minister,  especially  when  a  Commoner, 
lost  in  dignity.  To  obviate  this  the  King,  who 
was  very  scrupulous  in  these  matters,  issued  a 
royal  warrant  by  which  the  Premier  took  pre- 
cedence over  all  his  subjects,  the  Archbishops  of 
Canterbury  and  York  and  the  Lord  Chancellor 
alone  excepted. 

It  goes  without  saying  that  such  a  King  would 
understand  and  be  understood  by  the  people. 
Edward  VII  is  the  most  remarkable  example  on 
record  of  the  fusion  of  royalty  with  democracy. 
Long  before  he  came  to  the  throne  his  interest 
in  all  questions  concerning  the  welfare  of  the  people 
was  notorious. 

His  death  on  the  6th  of  May,  1910,  was  un- 
expected. On  being  informed  that  he  was  ill 
Queen  Alexandra,  who  was  cruising  in  the  Mediter- 
ranean, returned  immediately.  He  died  the 
following  day.  During  the  thirty-eight  hours  his 
body  lay  in  state  in  Westminster  Hall  it  is 
estimated  that  over  one  hundred  and  fifty  people 
per  minute  passed  the  bier.  It  was  one  of  the 
most  striking  tributes  of  democracy  to  royalty 
ever  witnessed.  His  funeral  was  the  last  and 
grandest  of  his  pageants.  Day  by  day  be- 
forehand the  outward  and  visible  signs  of  the 
19 


290    QUEEN  CONSORT  AND  QUEEN-MOTHER 

nation's  sorrow  multiplied.  Not  a  vestige  of 
colour  was  to  be  seen  anywhere  in  the  vast  crowd 
that  lined  the  route  of  the  funeral  procession  as  it 
passed  through  London.  The  sight  of  this  enor- 
mous mass  of  humanity  in  black  impressed  even 
those  who  composed  it. 

''  They  have  given  him  to  us  now/'  said  a 
white-faced  working  girl  in  a  dusty  black  dress 
to  a  young  working  man  who  raised  her  for  a 
moment  above  the  heads  of  the  crowd.  It  was, 
indeed,  as  if  officialdom  had  given  him  to  those 
black-garbed  myriads  to  mourn  1 


Three  days  after  her  husband's  death  Queen 
Alexandra  addressed  the  following  Message  to 
the  Nation  : 

'*  From  the  depths  of  my  poor  broken  heart  I 
wish  to  express  to  the  whole  nation  and  our  kind 
people  we  love  so  well  my  deep-felt  thanks  for 
all  their  touching  sympathy  in  my  overwhelming 
sorrow  and  unspeakable  anguish. 

*'  Not  alone  have  I  lost  everything  in  him,  my 
beloved  husband,  but  the  nation,  too,  has  suffered 
an  irreparable  loss  by  their  best  friend,  father,  and 
Sovereign  thus  suddenly  called  away. 

**  May  God  give  us  all  His  Divine  help  to  bear 
this  heaviest  of  crosses  which  He  has  seen  fit  to  lay 
upon  us — *  His  will  be  done.'  Give  me  a  thought 
in  your  prayers  which  will  comfort  and  sustain 
me  in  all  I  have  still  to  go  through.  Let  me  take 
this  opportunity  of  expressing  my  heart-felt 
thanks  for  all  the  touching  letters  and  tokens  of 


MESSAGE  TO  THE   NATION  291 

sympathy  I  have  received  from  all  classes,  high 
and  low,  rich  and  poor,  which  are  so  numerous 
that  I  fear  it  will  be  impossible  for  me  ever  to 
thank  everybody  individually. 

''  I  confide  my  dear  son  into  your  care,  who,  I 
know,  will  follow  in  his  dear  father's  footsteps, 
begging  you  to  show  him  the  same  loyalty  and 
devotion  you  showed  his  dear  father. 

'*  I  know  that  both  my  dear  son  and  daughter- 
in-law  will  do  their  utmost  to  merit  and  keep  it. 

'*  Alexandra." 

There  is  a  power  in  these  artless  words  which 
no  eloquence  can  match.  The  note  of  personal 
intimacy  in  this  message,  characteristic  of  all 
Queen  Alexandra's  public  utterances,  made  it 
seem  as  if  it  were  addressed  individually  to  every 
one  of  her  subjects.  The  impression  it  produced 
was  so  deep  that  a  facsimile  in  the  Queen's  hand- 
writing, ornamented  with  a  border  symbolic  of 
grief  by  Sir  Edward  Poynter,  President  of  the 
Royal  Academy,  was  published  and  the  proceeds 
of  the  sale  given  to  a  charity. 

V 

Borne  off  on  the  crest  of  the  wave  from  "a 
world  all  in  opera  around  him,"  King  Edward 
carried  with  him  the  zest  of  life  which  had  given 
an  elan  even  to  commonplace  things.  The  change 
was  felt  immediately.  Outwardly,  the  life  of  the 
nation  proceeded  as  usual,  but  its  buoyancy  had 
iost  something  indefinable  and  insouciant. 

To  Queen  Alexandra  it  must  have  seemed    as 


292     QUEEN  CONSORT  AND  QUEEN-MOTHER 

if  the  continuity  of  all  that  life  held  for  her  was 
broken.  She  had  seen  the  chief  pillars  of  her 
happiness  fall  one  by  one — her  ''  precious  eldest 
son,"  her  ''  adored  mother,"  her  ''  devoted  father." 
Now,  with  the  passing  of  her  ''beloved  husband," 
the  arch  itself  had  given  way. 

Queen  Louise  had  died  on  the  29th  of  September, 
1898,  aged  eighty-four,  with  all  her  children 
around  her,  Queen  Alexandra  and  the  Empress 
Marie  holding  her  hands  when  she  breathed  her 
last.  She  was  in  full  possession  of  her  mental 
faculties,  and  had  not  lost  her  interest  in  affairs. 
On  the  morning  of  the  day  she  died  she  had  the 
**  home  and  foreign  papers  read  to    her." 

One  of  the  remarkable  women  of  her  age — as  her 
correspondence  and  other  documentary  evidence 
will  prove  when  published  in  another  generation 
or  two— she  was  to  the  world  a  somewhat 
shadowy  figure.  And  this,  too,  considering 
the  importance  of  the  role  she  played,  will  be 
cited  as  a  proof  of  her  ability.  The  German 
Press,  recalling  Schleswig-Holstein-Hesse-Cassel 
confiscations  and  those  intimate  family  reunions 
under  her  roof,  described  her  when  she  died  as  a 
she-Machiavelli.  The  memory  of  a  woman  who, 
without  fortune,  marries  for  love  a  man  without 
prospects,  holds  him  for  a  life-time,  cheerfully 
brmgs  up  a  large  family  who  idolise  her  under 
adverse  circumstances  in  the  path  of  virtue,  lives 
simply  m  prosperity,  and  '*  is  feared  by  Bismarck,'^ 
is  surely  worth  preserving. 

Her  father's  death  some  seven  years  later — the 
29th  of  January,  1906 — was  a  shock  to  Queen 
Alexandra,  the  harder  to  bear  because  she  was 


DEATH  OF   CHRISTIAN  IX  293 

denied  the  morbid  consolation  of  being  with  him 
at  the  end.  Though  eighty-eight,  his  death  was 
quite  unexpected.  On  the  morning  of  the  day 
he  died  he  had  granted  audiences  and  transacted 
business  apparently  in  his  usual  health.  After 
lunch  he  suddenly  collapsed  while  conversing 
with  his  daughter  the  Empress  Marie,  and,  to  her 
horror,  expired  almost  immediately.  A  superb 
old  man,  who  '*  took  saddle  exercise  regularly 
till  eighty,  after  that  used  to  drive  the  drag  in 
which  his  family  made  excursions  on  their  annual 
visits  home.** 

A  picturesque  figure  of  a  king,  too,  of  a  type 
that  is  not  bred  any  more.  He  was  the  sole 
sovereign  in  Europe  who,  in  a  democratic  age, 
managed  to  retain  the  royal  privilege  of  free 
intercourse  between  the  king  and  the  people.  He 
was  accessible  to  the  meanest,  and  anyone,  if 
respectably  clad,  could  attend  his  palace  recep- 
tions. He  was,  however,  a  firm  believer  in 
personal  rule.  This  was  a  point  on  which  he  and 
his  subjects  could  never  agree;  but,  as  it  was  quite 
manifest  that  he  was  solely  actuated  by  a  sincere 
desire  to  benefit  Denmark,  it  caused  no  rancour. 
At  last,  taught  by  experience,  his  people  were 
even  willing  to  admit,  as  far  as  he  personally  was 
concerned,  that  *'  political  wisdom  was  on  the  side 
of  the  ruler.**  When  he  died  they  termed  him 
*'  a  people's  king,*'  which  he  was  in  the  grand  old 
true  sense  of  the  word. 

With  the  death  of  Christian  IX  the  famous 
annual  reunions  of  his  children  ceased.  They  no 
longer  had  the  same  inducement  to  foregather. 
Nevertheless,  partly  from  force  of  habit,  partly 


294    QUEEN  CONSORT  AND  QUEEN-MOTHER 

for  old  times'  sake,  Queen  Alexandra  and  the 
Empress  Marie  still  clung  to  the  old  tradition. 
Between  them  they  bought  *'  Hvidore,"  a  ''  white  '* 
villa  on  the  shores  of  the  Baltic,  near  Bernstorff, 
as  a  sort  of  trysting-place.  What  memories  they 
had  to  exchange,  what  regrets  to  share  1  Sunt 
lachrymcB  rerum,  et  mentem  mortalia  tangunt.  At 
"  Hvidore''  the  stage  is  mounted,  as  of  old,  for  the 
romantic  drama  of  The  Affections  of  the  Glucks- 
burgs ;  but  the  actors  and  actresses  are  lacking  for 
the  cast.  The  dead  answer  not  to  the  call,  and 
even  the  living  are  silent.  The  brother-Kings  of 
Denmark  and  Greece  respond  to  a  more  imperative 
summons.  And  Thyra,  Duchess  of  Cumberland, 
*'  queen  who  will  never  wear  a  crown,''  as  the 
gipsy  fortune-teller  predicted  on  the  beach  at 
Klampenborg,  God  knows  how  many  summers 
ago  now  1  stirs  not  in  her  tragic,  magnificent 
dream  at  Gmunden.  Soon  even  the  widowed 
sister-Queens  themselves  come  no  more. 


While  King  Edward's  death  altered  the 
official  status,  it  did  not  lessen  the  national  im- 
portance of  the  Queen.  On  the  same  date  as 
her  message  to  the  nation  the  public  were  in- 
formed that  she  was  henceforth  to  be  ofiicially 
styled  the  Queen-Mother.  The  idea  appealed  to 
popular  sentiment.  To  the  masses,  who  had 
always  loved  her,  it  suggested  veneration,  rather 
than  venerability.  ''It  is  well,"  said  the  Times, 
**  that  we  should  pray  for  her  by  that  dear  English 
name." 


TRIBUTES  OF  AFFECTION  295 

The  veneration  in  which  she  was  held  through- 
out the  Empire  was,  indeed,  quite  remarkable. 
A  Canadian  officer,  who  came  from  a  remote  part 
of  Canada,  writing  from  the  front  to  a  friend  in 
England,  declared  that  it  had  been  one  of  the 
dreams  of  his  life  to  see  Queen  Alexandra,  and 
that  when  in  London  on  leave  he  used  eagerly, 
but  in  vain,  to  scan  the  daily  papers  in  the 
hope  of  discovering  from  the  announcement  of 
her  movements  an  opportunity  of  getting  a 
glimpse  of  her.  The  unaffected  candour  with 
which  he  expressed  his  devotion  for  the  beautiful 
Queen  he  had  never  seen  is  pecuUarly  poignant. 

'*  .  .  .  I  am  sorry,''  he  writes  to  his  friend, 
''  that  once  more  I  have  failed  in  the  long-cherished 
desire  that  I  might  see  Her  Majesty  Queen 
Alexandra  before  I  passed  on.  In  my  country 
we  adore  her,  and  have  never  permitted  any  other 
member  of  the  Royal  Family  to  usurp  her  place 
in  our  love. 

*'  It  is  perhaps  amusing  to  recall  that  as  a  small 
boy  I  believed  the  tiny  portrait  my  mother 
treasured  of  Queen  Alexandra  as  a  bride  to  be  the 
Madonna !  I  have  it  with  me  in  the  trenches. 
I  treasure  it  greatly.  It  shall  be  one  of  my 
mascots." 

Though  the  Queen  had  received  many  and 
frequent  tokens  of  individual  affection,  it  had  long 
been  felt  that  the  people  as  a  whole  should  be 
given  the  means  of  showing  it.  The  opportunity 
occurred  on  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  her  resi- 
dence in  England.  A  committee  was  accordingly 
formed  with  ''  the  object  of  expressing  the  people's 
affection  for  Queen  Alexandra  by  calling  attention 


296  QUEEN  CONSORT  AND  QUEEN-MOTHER 

to  the  needs  of  the  hospitals,  convalescent  homes, 
and  other  kindred  charitable  institutions  in  which 
she  is  interested."  This  '*  tribute  with  a  pur- 
pose "  was  the  origin  of  Alexandra  Day. 

On  the  26th  of  June,  1913,  the  date  agreed  on, 
women  were  to  be  seen  in  the  streets  of  every  town 
and  village  in  England  selling  badges  of  wild 
roses  (Queen  Alexandra's  favourite  flower)  for 
any  sum  one  cared  to  pay.  The  Queen  herself 
was  induced  to  drive  through  the  streets  of  London 
in  an  open  carriage,  and  received  a  remarkable 
demonstration  of  loyalty,  the  memory  of  which, 
she  said  afterwards,  "  she  should  cherish  to  the 
last  day  of  her  life.'' 

The  success  of  the  scheme  was,  indeed,  so 
encouraging  that  Alexandra  Day  has  since  been 
celebrated  annually  throughout  the  Empire.  It 
is  estimated  that  over  £700,000  have  been  raised 
in  this  way  for  the  benefit  of  charity  since  the 
idea  was  originated. 

One  of  the  most  striking  public  proofs  of  the 
universal  regard  she  inspired  occurred  during  the 
debate  in  Parliament  on  the  Civil  List  after  King 
Edward's  death  in  July  1910.  The  Socialist  leader, 
Keir  Hardie,  objected  to  the  grant  for  the  upkeep 
of  the  Royal  Palaces  as  excessive.  Recriminations 
followed,  and  some  bitter  things  were  said  by  him 
in  the  heat  of  the  moment.  When  he  discovered, 
however,  that  the  item  he  particularly  objected 
to  related  to  the  Palace  of  the  Queen-Mother,  he 
withdrew  his  protest. 

''  May  I  just  add,"  he  said,  before  resuming  his 
seat,  **  that  I  should  be  sorry  if  any  words  of 
mine  have  given  offence  to  the  royal  lady." 


SYMBOLIC  297 

His  obvious  sincerity  gave  a  grace  to  this 
gesture  which  the  most  ardent  advocate  of  royalty 
might  have  envied. 


There  are  some  roses  that  fall  only  leaf  by  leaf 
and  retain  their  fragrance  to  the  end — last  roses 
of  a  summer  that  has  gone,  roses  to  which  senti- 
ment ever  fondly  clings. 

*'  It  is  not  a  courtier's  phrase,  nor  a  flatterer's 
compliment/'  said  a  prominent  London  paper 
at  the  time  of  her  Silver  Wedding,  '*  to  tell  the 
Princess  of  Wales  to  her  kind  and  beautiful  face 
that  which  she  knows  so  well,  that  she  is  the 
delight  of  the  entire  Empire.  If  there  be,  indeed, 
one  question  upon  which  we  could  poll  a  unani- 
mous vote  in  these  islands  and  dependencies — 
one  point  as  to  which  all  are  utterly  and  always 
of  one  and  the  same  opinion — it  is  upon  the  matter 
of  the  virtues  and  graces  of  Her  Royal  Highness." 

So  it  has  ever  been.  '*  The  one  point  as  to 
which  all  are  utterly  and  always  of  one  and  the 
same  opinion" — a  most  significant  fact,  well 
worth  more  than  a  fleeting  reflection.  A  symbol 
of  the  old  metaphorical  healing  virtue  of  royalty; 
the  lost  talisman,  or  Ariadne's- thread,  as  it  were, 
in  the  gloomy  labyrinth  of  discord  and  disillusion 
from  which  the  present  generation,  maddened  by 
its  self-deification,  like  the  Caesars,  distractedly 
seeks  egress. 


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INDEX 


Abdul  Aziz,  Sultan,  258,  259 

Albani,  Madame,  230 

Albert  Victor,  Prince,  see  Duke  of 
Clarence 

Alexander  III,  Czar,  165,  167-171, 
218,  225,  228 

Alexander  John,  Prince,  138 

Alexandra,  Queen  5  birth,  34  ; 
childhood,  51  ;  education,  52, 
53  ;  love  of  home,  55  ;  marriage 
predicted  by  Times,  60  ;  visit 
of  Lady  Paget,  63-66 ;  first 
meeting  with  Prince  of  Wales, 
67  ;  marriage  negotiations,  70  ; 
presented  to  Queen  Victoria, 
73  ;  marriage  announced,  75  ; 
leaves  Denmark,  79 ;  arrival 
in  England,  84 ;  entry  into  Lon- 
don, 85-89;  wedding,  91-94; 
opinions  of  artists,  99 ;  con- 
doles with  Mrs.  Gladstone,  102  ; 
impulsiveness,  105  ;  death  of 
Cecil  Rhodes,  106 ;  at  the 
Marathon  Race,  109-111  ;  hus- 
band's illness,  1 18-124 ;  national 
thanksgiving,  125 ;  husband's 
admiration,  136  ;  birth  of  Duke 
of  Clarence,  137  ;  devotion  to 
her  children,  139 ;  death  of  Duke 
of  Clarence,  142-144  ;  accession 
of  Christian  IX,  146  ;  Denmark 
attacked,  147;  the  "  Alexandra 
Cent  Gardes,"  148  ;  intervention 
of  the  Princess,  149  '.  opposition 
ofQueen  Victoria,  150-152  ;  dis- 
illusionment, 154  ;  visits  Den- 
mark, 155  ;  admiration  of  the 
Danes,  156;  political  importance, 
158-160  ;  affection  for  the  Em- 
press Marie,  169;  the  origin  of  the 
Anglo-Russian  Alliance,  174 ; 
dowry,  188  note  ;  first  Drawing- 
room,    190 ;     at   the    Guildhall 


ball,  192 ;  mobbed,  193  ;  re- 
ception in  Oxford,  195  ;  effect 
of  her  charm  on  the  nation, 
201  ;  purifying  influence,  205  ; 
first  visit  to  Ireland,  210  ; 
Dublin's  enthusiastic  welcome, 
211  ;  state  visit  to  Birmingham, 
213;  Punch's  cartoon,  213; 
interest  in  charity  and  philan- 
thropy, 216 ;  value  of  her 
patronage,  217 ;  interest  in 
nursing,  218 ;  in  the  Finsen 
Light  cure  of  lupus,  220 ; 
gratitude  of  London  Hospital, 
221  ;  her  compassionate  nature, 
222-224 ;  horror  of  cruelty 
225  ;  love  of  animals,  226 ; 
horsemanship,  227 ;  courage, 
228  ;  love  of  music,  229,  230  ; 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Music  con- 
ferred on  her,  231  ;  winters 
in  Eg5rpt,  235 ;  magnificent 
hospitality  of  the  IQiedive,  240 ; 
witnesses  the  departure  of  the 
Holy  Carpet  to  Mecca,  241  ; 
visit  to  the  harem,  243-245  ;  on 
the  Nile,  246-254  ;  Lady  Duff- 
Gordon's  impression,  255  ;  re- 
ception in  Constantinople,  258  ; 
postponement  of  King  Edward's 
coronation,  271 ;  universal  sym- 
pathy for  the  Queen,  276; 
coronation  of  the  Queen,  277  ; 
importance  of  the  Queen  dur- 
ing King  Edward's  reign,  279  ; 
her  wonderful  fascination,  280 ; 
Pierre  Loti's  impression,  280- 
285  ;  death  of  King  Edward, 
289  ;  the  Queen's  Message  to 
the  nation,  290 ;  griefs  of  the 
Queen,  292 ;  Queen-mother, 
294  ;  tribute  of  affection,  295 ; 
Alexandra  Day,  296 ;  a  reflec- 
tion on  the  national  regard  for 
the  Queen,  297 


301 


302 


INDEX 


Alfred,  Prince,  156,  158 
Alice,  Princess,  69.  118,  181 
Andersen,  Hans  Christian,  51 
Anglo-Russian  Alliance,  The,  173, 

174 
Augusta   Victoria    of    Schleswig- 

Holstein-Augustenburg      (Kai- 

serin),  152 
Augustenburg,  Duke  of,  42,  50, 146 
Augustenburg,  Duke  Frederick  of, 

see  Duke  of  Schleswig-Holstein. 


Baccarat  Case,  the,  133 
Battenberg,  Prince  Louis  of,  251 
Berling,  46 

Berlingske  Tidende,  The,  46 
BernstorfE  Castle,  50-54,  71,  155, 

192,  254,  294 
Bismarck,   37,   50,   61,    147,    150, 

152,  154,  292 
Bissen,  44  note,  49 
Blackburn,  Mrs.,  139 
Blagge,  117,  118,  124,  222 
Botha,  General,  279 
Bright,  John,  185,  186 
Broglie,  Due  de,  128 
Bunsen,  Baroness  de,  179 


Canterbury,  Archbishop  of,   120, 

127,  289 
Caroline  Amalie,  Queen,  43  note 
Caroline  Matilda,  Queen,  51 
Chamberlain,     Joseph,     212-214, 

267 
Chesterfield,  Lord,  117,  118 
Christian  VIII,  King,  35-44 
Christian    IX,    King,    34-37,    43, 

50-53,  55,  60-63,  70,  146,  147, 

159,  161,  162,  170,  294 
Christian  of  Glucksburg,    Prince, 

see  Christian  IX. 
Christian  of  Glucksburg,  Princess, 

see  Queen  Louise 
Clarence  and  Avondale,  Duke  of, 

137-144,  148,  284 
Collings,  Jesse,  212  note 
Connaught,  Duke  of,  163 
Constant,  Benjamin,  99,  100 
Court  Circular,  The,  260 
Crown  Prince  Frederick  (Emperor 

Frederick),  61,  66,  69,  150 
Crown    Princess,    The    (Empress 

Frederick),  61-69,   72,  90,  97, 

105 
Cumberland,  Duchess  of,  52,  162, 

163,  169,  294 


Cumberland,  Duke  of,  163,  164 
Czarina,  The,  1 71-174 


Dagmar,     Prncess,      see     Marie, 

Empress. 
Daily  News,  The,  186,  187 
Danner,  Countess,  45-48 
Delane,  Editor  of  the  Times,  182, 

183 
Dhuleep    Singh,    Maharajah,    92, 

117 
Dickens,  Charles,  90,  92,  93,  204 
Disraeli,  90 

Dorando,  Pietro,  109-111 
Doyle,  Sir  Arthur  Conan,  107-109 
Drew.  Mrs.,  102 
Duff-Gordon,  Lady,  255 


Edward  VII,  King,  59-68.  70,  74, 
75,  82-86,  89,  91.  97,  102,  115- 
127,  129-134,  136-138,  141,  144, 
149,  154-158,  169,  170,  188- 
190,  193-197,  199-201,  207-218, 
267-279,  285-289,  296 

Eugenie,  Empress,  178,  198,  199, 
237 


Field,  Cyrus  W.,  122 

Fife,  Duchess  of,  138,  219,  227 

Finsen  Institute,  220,  221 

Fleming,  Canon,  142 

Francis  Joseph,  Emperor,  163 

Frederick  VII,  44-51,  78,  91,  146, 

159 
Frederick,      Prince      (afterwards 

Frederick  VIII),  52,  ^^ 
Frith  (artist),  94,  99 


Genlis,  Madame  de,  116 

George  I  of  Greece,  King,  52,  79, 

158-160,  195,  238,  259 
George  IV,  66,  141 
George  V,  138 
Gibson  (sculptor),  99 
Gladstone,  90,  102,  127,  141 
Gladstone,  Mrs.,  100 
Gloucester,  Duchess  of,  114 
Glucksburg,  Duke  of,  80 
Gower,  Lord  Ronald,  227 
Grey,  Hon.  Mrs.,  236,  240,  242- 

246,  250,  251.  254,  256 
Gule  Palais,  The,  34,  51,  52 


INDEX 


803 


H 

Hall,  Danish  minister,  145 
Halle,  Sir  Charles,  229 
Halle,  Lady,  230 
Helena,  Princess,  152 
Hesse,  Grand  Duke  of,  69 
Hesse-Cassel,  Landgravine  of,  35, 

36,  42,  43,  67 
Hohenthal,    Countess    Walburga 

von,  see  Lady  Paget 
Hvidore,  294 


Irish  Times,  The,  266 
Ismail,   Khedive  of  Egypt,   236- 
246,  250,  259 


Jerichau,  Madame,  139 
Journal  des  Debats,  128 

K 

Kann6,  Monsieur,  245 

Keir  Hardie,  296 

Knollys,  Hon.  Charlotte,  100 


Leopold  I,  King,  68,  70,  72,  73,  80, 

91,  114.  153.  156 
Lind,  Jenny,  93 
Londesborough,  Earl  of,  117 
Loti,  Pierre,  280-285 
Louise,  Queen,  35-37,  43,  50,  52, 

53,  55,  63,  66,  70-72,  219,  220, 

292 
Louise  of  Sweden,  Princess,   162 
Louise    of   Wales,    Princess,    see 

Fife,  Duchess  of 

M 

Manchester  Guardian,  The,  135 
Marathon  Race,  The,  106-111 
Marie,  Empress,  25,  66,  164-169, 

171,    173,    174,   218,   220,   221, 

292-294 
Martin,  Sir  Theodore,  187 
Massy,  Martha,  223,  224 
Matin,  The,  no 
Maud,  Princess,  138,  225 
Mecklenburg,  Grand  Duchess  of, 

66 
Montefiore,  Sir  Moses,  122 
Morning  Post,  The,  120,  247 
Miiller,  Professor  Max,  151,  153 


N 
Napoleon  III,  37,  198.  287 
New  York  Tribune,  The,  no 
Nicholas  I,  Czar,  34 
Nicholas  II,  172,  173,  174 
Nightingale,  Florence,  218 

O 

Olga,  Grand  Duchess,  160 
Orleans,  Princess  Marie  of,  162 
Otto  of  Bavaria,  158 


Paget,  Sir  Augustus,  62,  64,  68 
Paget,  Lady  (wife  of  above),  62-66 

68-70,  72-74 
Paget,  Sir  James,  219,  220 
Palmerston,  Lady,  76 
Palmerston,  Lord,  50,  90,  91,  149, 

189  note 
Poynter,  Sir  Edward,  291 
Prince  Consort,  The,  58,  61,  64. 

66-68,  73,  75,  93,  114-116,  123, 

175-177,  179.  197 
Prince  Imperial,  The,  163,  178 
Punch,  148,  185,  190,  214 


R 

Rasmussen,  Louise,  see  Countess 

Danner 
Recognition  in  Eternity  (sermon 

on  the  death  of  the  Duke  of 

Clarence),  142 
Rhodes,  Cecil,  105,  106 
Robinson,  Peter  (Highland  piper), 

253 
Roosevelt,  President,  288 
Roskilde,  Cathedral  of,  49 
Rumbold,  Sir  Horace,  159 
Russell,    Sir   William,    236,    246. 

248-250,  252-254,  256 


St.  Helier,  Lady,  190 

Salisbury,  Lord,  272 

Schleswig-Holstein,  Duke  Frede- 
rick of,  146,  150,  152 

Schleswig-Holstein,  Prince  Chris- 
tian of,  152 

Scotsman,  The,  267 

Sidgwick,  Professor,  228 

Stockmar,  Baron,  67,  116 

Struensee,  51 

Sutherland,  Duke  of,  256 


304 


INDEX 


Tennyson,  90,  94,  154 

Thackeray,  90,  93 

Thyra,   Princess,  see  Duchess  of 

Cumberland 
Times,  The,  60-62,  70,  75,  88,  94, 

151,  165,  182,  183,  187,  213,  264 
Treaty  of  London  (1852),  50 


Vasili,  168,  172 

Victoria,  Princess,  138 

Victoria,  Queen,  57,  58 :  61-77,  82, 
88,  80-94,  105,  114-116,  118, 
120-127,  132,  138,  149-154^  157. 
173.  175-179,  181-189  note, 
197,  202,  208,  261-267,  284 


W 

Waldemar,  Prince,  52,  162 
Wales,  Prince  of,  see  King  Edward 

VII 
Wales,    Princess    of,    see    Queen 

Alexandra 
Waleska,  Countess,  37 
Waterford,  Lady,  204 
William  I,  Emperor,  154 
William  II,  Kaiser,  90,  152,  163, 

167 
William,  Prince  of  Denmark,  see 

King  George  I  of  Greece 


York,  Archbishop  of,  277,  289 


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